
m&m 



Bi 



. •■' 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf Li. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 







< 

o 



THE HAND OF 

PROVIDENCE, 



AS SHOWN IN THE 



HISTORY OF 



NATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS 



From the Great Apostasy to the Restoration 
of the Gospel. 



APR 9 1883' 






1^5T E3L.IDER J _ H_ A*7" .A. IR. ID . 



SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: 

Published at the Juvenile Instructor Office. 
1883. 



A 



fb 



v 



^ J 




-^.^^COPYRIGHTED BY J. H. WARD.&<4 



sih 



~^=H5^^" 



=£P 






PREFACE. 



DOX'T throw this book down carelessly. It will do you no 
harm. It assumes no dictation. It may benefit you if 
you will read it carefully. 

' ' We have plenty of histories. ' ' 

True. But most are too large to be of practical value to the 
sons and daughters of toil. Many are written in the interest 
of some party or sect, and in order to gain favor, they flatter 
the vanity of men. 

"But they tell of wonderful deeds, and thrilling adven- 
tures. ' ' 

Very true. Some of them are mostly composed of recitals 
of legalized slaughter, and praise of tyrants who have climbed 
to power over the mangled bodies of their fellow-men, and 
whose names will not live in one grateful memory ; while the 
real benefactors of the race, the unfolding of new and higher 
truths and, above all, the over-ruling hand of God are unnoticed, 
or, at most, barely mentioned. 

"Does God rule the world?" 

Yes, verily. The greatest actors on the theatre of the world 
are only instruments in the hand of God, for the execution of 
His purposes. 

"Where have you obtained the facts contained in this 
volume?" 

From many authentic works, some of them not easily acces- 
sible to most readers. 



IV. PREFACE. 

"This will be a good book for the young, and all those 
who have not the opportunity to consult larger works, 
will it not?" 

With this idea it has been written and to this end I dedicate 
it to my children as heirs in the kingdom of God, to the youth 
of Zion and to my earnest friends everywhere. 

The Author. 

Salt Lake City, 

March 16th, 1883. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Injustice of Roman Governors — Nero Emperor — Vespasian 
and Titus Sent to Judea — Fortifications of Jerusalem — 
Titus Offers Terms of Peace—Horrors of the Siege — 
Women Devour their own Children — Temple Burned — 
City Destroyed — Dispersion of the Jews — Universal Apos- 
tasy — Priesthood no More — Ideas of God Perverted — 
Worship Corrupted with Heathen Rites — Persecution of 
Christians — Emperor Constantine — Rise of Monastic 
Order. Page 9. 

CHAPTER II. 

Description of Arabia — Arabian Customs — Birth of Mahomet 
— Early Life — Journey to Syria — Christian Sects — Doc- 
trines Taught by Mahomet — His Marriage — Proclaims 
Himself a Prophet — Persecution — Flees to Medina — 
Becomes Powerful — Sickness and Death — Personal 
Appearance. Page 20. 

CHAPTER III. 

Causes of Triumphs — Abou-Beker Elected Caliph — War 
Declared — Fall of Bozrah — Battle of Aiznadin — Siege of 
Jerusalem — Departure of Roman Emperor — Saracen 
Fleet— Eastern Conquests — Fall of Alexandria — Conquest 
of Northern Africa — Conquest of Spain — Battle of 
Poictiers — Extent of Saracen Empire. Page 27. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Intellectual Stagnation — Saracens and Jews Revive Learning 
— University of Bagdad — Public Schools — Medical Col- 
lege of Cairo — Circulating Library — Modern Form of 
Books — Arabic Notation — Discoveries in Chemistry — 
Rotundity of the Earth — Mariner's Compass — Discoveries 
of Alhazin — Astronomical Observatories — Golden Age of 
Judaism — Cities of Andalusia — Saracen Dwellings — Con- 
dition of Women — Female Physicians. Page 34. 

CHAPTER V. 

Jerusalem the Sacred City — Alexandria Noted for Philosophy 
— School of Hypatia — Mob Murders Her — Doctrines of 
Cyril — Jerusalem a Scene of Suffering — Fulfillment _ of 
Prophecy — Herculaneum and Pompeii — Their Destruction 



VI. CONTENTS. 

— Evidences of their Wickedness — Excavations — Roman 
Rule — Removal of Capital — Crimes of Constantine — 
Commencement of Greek Empire — Description of Con- 
stantinople — Its Capture by Crusaders — Taken by the 
Turks — Intellectual Degradation — Priestcraft — Debauch- 
ery — Turkish Rule. Page 44. 
CHAPTER VI. 

Growth of Relic- Worship — Schemes of the Roman Pontiffs — 
Manufacture of Relics — Their Great Variety — Value of 
Relics — Insults Offered to Pilgrims — Peter the Hermit — 
Crusades — Disorderly Rabble — Terrible Suffering — Cap- 
ture of Jerusalem — Terrible Massacre — Capture of Con- 
stantinople — Crusades of the Children — Results of the 
Crusades — Revival of Learning. Page 53. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Morning Dawns — Rise of Knighthood — Principles of 
Knights — Apostate Priests Held in Contempt — Waldenses 
— Persecutions in Southern France — Rise of the Inquisi- 
tion — Liberal Policy of Frederick — "Everlasting Gospel" 
— Its Remarkable Teachings — Bacon's Discoveries — Geo- 
graphical Knowledge — Azores and Canary Islands — 
Travels of Marco Polo — Condition of European States — 
Modern States. Page 64. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Lesson from Heathen Mythology — Vicissitudes of Roman 
Church — Boniface Pope — Advancement in Civilization — 
Work of the Roman Church — Invention of Printing — 
Gutenberg — Bible First Printed — Columbus — His Wonder- 
ful Dream — His Great Voyage — Discovery of America — 
Trials and Triumphs. Page 74. 

CHAPTER IX. 

History in Words — British Coat of Arms — The Ten Tribes — 
Account of Esdras- Dispersion of the Tribes— Mixed 
Seed of Israel — Effect on European Society — Jewish 
Influence — Discovery of Cape of Good Hope — Pacific 
Ocean Discovered — Magellan's Voyage — Discovers Cape 
Horn — Distance Sailed — Death of Magellan — Voyage 
Completed — Its Effect on the Public — Huss and Jerome 
Burned — John Ziska — Persecutions of Waldenses — Cap- 
ture of Mentz — Dispersion of Printers — Hans Boheim — 
Joss Fritz — Sale of Indulgences — Martin Luther Burns 
the Pope's Letter — Grand Council at Worms — Rome in a 
Rage — Luther Kidnapped. Page 85. 

CHAPTER X. 

Germany Aroused — Peasants' War — Muntzer's Proclamation 
— Emperor Quarrels With the Pope— Results in Other 



CONTENTS. Vn. 

Countries— Growth in Modern Languages— Luther's 
Crowning Work — Power of Superstition — Witchcraft — 
Reformers not Inspired — Extracts from Mosheim — Battle- 
Ax of God — Copernicus — Galileo — Newton— Death of 
Bruno — Change in Commercial Affairs— Spanish Armada 
— Blessed by the Pope — Destroyed by a Storm — Its Effect 
on Europe— England's Influence and Position — America 
the Land of Refuge. Page 97. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Columbus Destroyed Papal Dogmas— Cruelty of Spaniards— 
Their Retribution — Relics in Massachusetts— Newport 
Tower — Mounds in Ohio — Remains Found in Iowa — 
Plates Found in Illinois — Ancient Mexican Pyramids — 
Human Sacrifices — View from the Great Pyramid — 
Ancient American Sculptures — Mammoths— Mexican 
Customs — Religious Rites — Computation of Time— Arts 
and Sciences — Description of Peru — Its Civilization — ■ 
Massacre of the Incas — Testimony of Travelers — Indian 
Traditions. Page 106. 

CHAPTER XII. 

England's Development — Reign of Elizabeth — Influence of 
the Bible — Tyranny of the Kings — Jacques Cartier — Dis- 
covery of the St. LawreDce — Quebec Founded — Acadia 
Colonized — Transferred to England — Extracts from Long- 
fellow's Poem — Virginia Settled. Page 123. 
CHAPTER XIII. 

Character of the Colonists — They Leave England — Sojourn in 
Holland — Brewster's Printing Press — Puritans Embark 
for America — Their Trust in God — Robinson's Prophecy 
—Plymouth Founded — Sufferings of the Colonists — Con- 
flict in England — Peculiarities of the Puritans — Harvard 
College Founded — Extent of Settlements — First Confed- 
eration. Page 128. 
CHAPTER XIV. 

Description of Holland — A Land of Refuge — Tyranny of Alva 
— The Struggle for Independence — Siege of Ley den — The 
Country Submerged — Famine in the City — Speech of the 
Mayor — Heroic Conduct — Trust in God — Storm Raises 
the Waters — Spaniards Retreat — Leyden is Saved — 
Thanksgiving — Waters Retire. Page 1 35. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Rise of Quakerism — George Fox — William Penn — Founds 
Pennsylvania — Kindness to the Indians — Philadelphia 
Founded— Maryland, Carolina and Georgia Settled — 
Roger Williams — Rhode Island Founded — Its Tolera- 
tion. Page 141. 



VIII. CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Condition of English Society — Manufacture of Gin and Rum 
— Origin of Methodism — Eloquence of Whitfield— John 
and Charles Wesley — Remarkable Teachings — Robert 
Raikes— John Howard — William Wilberforce — Mechani- 
cal Inventions — Growth of American Freedom — Three 
Great Battles — Cook's Voyages — Extension of the Eng- 
lish Language — Greatness of Pitt — Washington's Early 
Life — Benjamin Franklin. Page 149. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Gathering of Political Forces— General Revolution — Civil 
Reformers—Decay of Old Institutions — Rosseau and His 
Writings — Voltaire — Holland, a Political Refuge — Amer- 
ican Settlers — Lines of Albert B. Street — Growth of the 
Colonies — Love for England — Causes of Revolution — 
Manufactures Forbidden — Stamp Act — Tax on Tea — 
Philadelphia Convention — Address to the King — Appeal 
To England — To Canada — Incident in Old South Church, 
Boston — Paul Revere' s Ride. Page 161. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Battle of Lexington — Officers Chosen — A Year of Discussion 
—Declaration of Independence — Spirit of English Nobil- 
ity — Defeat of American Forces — Success at Trenton and 
Princeton — Sufferings at Valley Forge — Washington's 
Prayer — Burgoyne's Campaign — Arrival of La Fayette — 
Arnold's Treason — Andre's Death — Siege of Yorktown — 
Close of the War — Treaty of Peace — Army Disbanded — 
Washington Resigns his Commission — Constitutional Con- 
vention — Washington Elected President — Hi& Death — 
His Tomb. Page 173. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Influence of La Fayette — Despotism in France— The Bastile — 
Corruption of the Church— Commencement of the Revolu- 
tion — The Marseillaise — Its Wonderful Influence — Reign 
of Terror — Napoleon Bonaparte — His Wonderful Career — 
Jewish Sanhedrim— Fall of Napoleon — His Death — Pro- 
gress of Liberty. 187. 
CHAPTER XX. 

The Genius of the Age — European Wars — American Tranquil 
— Declaration of War— Di visions of North America — 
United States — Canada — Mexico — American Common 
Schools — Their Influence — Progress of Invention — First 
Steamboat — First Locomotive — Electric Telegraph — Im- 
provements in Printing — Spiritual Darkness — The King- 
dom of God — Wants of the Present Age— Joseph Smith 
— His Tragic Death— Conclusion. 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM AND 

APOSTASY OF THE EARLY 

CHURCH. 



INJUSTICE OF ROMAN GOVERNORS— NERO EMPEROR— VES- 
PASIAN AND TITUS SENT TO JUDEA — FORTIFICATIONS OF 
JERUSALEM — TITUS OFFERS TERMS OF PEACE — HORRORS 
OF THE SIEGE — WOMEN DEVOUR THEIR OWN CHILDREN 
— TEMPLE BURNED— CITY DESTROYED — DISPERSION OF 
THE JEWS — UNIVERSAL APOSTASY — PRIESTHOOD NO MORE 
—IDEAS OF GOD PREVERTED— WORSHIP CORRUPTED WITH 
HEATHEN RLTES — PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS — 
EMPEROR CONSTANTINE — RISE OF MONASTIC ORDER. 

ACCORDING to the best records that have come down to 
us, the last book of the New Testament (commonly 
called the Apocalypse of St. John) was written about sixty 
years after the ascension of our Savior. 

At that time the gospel of Jesus Christ had been preached 
in all the principal cities and countries of the known world. 
Numerous branches of the primitive church had been planted 
in Palestine, Syria. Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy. 

In the meantime the awful doom which the Savior predicted 
against Jerusalem had been literally fulfilled. Shortly after 
the crucifixion and ascension of the Savior, Judea became the 
theatre of many cruelties and oppressions arising from conten- 
tions between the Jewish priests, the depredations of numerous 
bands of robbers, which infested the country ; but more than 
all from the injustice and avarice of the Roman governors. 



10 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



The last of these governors was Gessius Floras, whom 
Josephus represents as a monster in wickedness and cruelty 
and whom the Jews regarded rather as a bloody executioner, 
sent to torture, than as a magistrate to govern them. 




During the government of Felix, his predecessor, a dispute 
having arisen between the Jews and Syrians about the city of 
Csesarea, their respective claims were referred to the emperor, 
Nero, at Rome. The decision was in favor of the Syrians, 
and the Jews immediately took up arms to avenge their 
cause. 



HORRORS OF THE SIEGE. 11 

In this state of things, Nero gave orders to Vespasian to 
march into Judea with a powerful army. Accordingly, Ves- 
pasian, accompanied by his son Titus, marched into Palestine 
at the head of 60,000 well-disciplined troops. While Vespasian 
was thus preparing more effectually to curb the still unbroken 
spirit of the Jews, intelligence arrived of the death of the 
emperor and his own election to the throne. Departing there- 
fore for Rome he left the best of his troops with his son, order- 
ing him to besiege and utterly destroy Jerusalem. 

Titus lost no time in carrying into effect his father's injunc- 
tion. Jerusalem was strongly fortified both by nature and art. 
Three walls surrounded it which were considered impregnable ; 
besides which it had numerous towers outside of the walls, 
lofty, firm and strong. The circumference was nearly four 
miles. 

Desirous of saving the city, Titus repeatedly sent offers of 
peace to the inhabitants ; but they were indignantly rejected. 
At length finding all efforts at treaty ineffectual, he entered 
upon the siege determined not to leave it until he had razed 
the city to its foundation. 

The internal state of the city soon became horrible. The 
inhabitants being divided in their counsels fought with one 
another, and the streets were often deluged with blood shed by 
the hands of kindred. In the meantime famine spread its 
horrors abroad, and pestilence its ravages. Thousands died 
daily and were carried out of the gates to be buried at the 
public expense ; until being unable to hurry them to the grave 
the wretched victims were thrown into houses as fast as they 
fell, and there shut up. 

During the prevalence of the famine, the house of a certain 
woman by the name of Miriam was repeatedly plundered of such 
provisions as she had been able to procure. So extreme did 
her suffering become, that she entreated those around her, to 
put an end to her miserable existence. At length frantic with 
fury and despair she snatched her infant from her bosom, 
killed and cooked it ; and having satiated her present hunger, 
concealed the rest. The smell of food soon drew the voracious 
human tigers to her house; they threatened her with tortures 

she hid her provisions from them. Being thus compelled 



12 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

she set before them the relics of her mangled babe. At the 
sight of this horrid spectacle, inhuman as they were, they 
stood aghast, petrified with horror, and at length rushed pre- 
cipitately from the house. 

When the report of this spread through the city, the con- 
sternation was universal and inexpressible. The people now, 
for the first time, began to think themselves forsaken of God. 
In the mind of Titus the recital awakened both horror and 
indignation, and he resolved to push the siege with still greater 
vigor, aiming particularly to obtain possession of the temple. 
The preservation of this noble edifice was strongly desired by 
him ; but one of the Roman soldiers being exasperated by the 
Jews, or, as Josephus says, "pushed on by the hand of Provi- 
dence," seized a blazing firebrand, and getting on his comrades' 
shoulders, threw it through a window, and soon the whole north 
side was in a flame. Titus immediately gave order to extin- 
guish the fire ; but the enraged soldiers, bent on destroying the 
city and all it contained, either did not hear or did not regard 
him. The flames continued to spread until this consecrated 
edifice, the glory of the nation, became one mingled heap of 
ruins. Then followed a terrible massacre in which thousands 
perished, some in the flames and others by the sword of the 
enemy. At length the city was abandoned to the fury of the 
soldiers. It is said that nearly one million five hundred 
thousand persons perished in the siege. 

The conquest of the city being achieved, Titus proceeded to 
demolish its noble structures, its fortifications, palaces and walls. 
So literally were the predictions of the Savior fulfilled respect- 
ing its destruction that not one stone was left upon another 
that was not thrown down. 

From that day the Jews have been dispersed through the 
world, despised and hated, persecuted and yet upheld — lost as 
it were among the nations, and yet distinct — they live as the 
monuments of the truth of God. 

While the apostles lived the churches planted by them con- 
tinued to exist with more or less of spiritual life. 

. But the spirit of apostasy was already at work. In some 
places pagan rites and ceremonies had perverted the worship 
of the true God and but few could be found who remained 






UNIVERSAL APOSTASY. 13 

pure amid the corruptions of the age or undaunted by the 
trials and persecutions that surrounded them on every side. 

So universal was this apostasy that only seven churches 
throughout Asia, Africa and Europe were considered worthy 
of being either reproved or blessed by the voice of revelation. 
( See Revelations 2nd and 3rd chapters. ) 

The whole eastern continent of which we have authentic 
history was at that period under the control of Rome, and 
paganism was the religion of the empire. Thus the whole 
power of the realm was brought to bear against the infant 
church. 

Pagan priests excited the populace to frenzy, and royal 
decrees delivered the saints to the most terrible tortures and 
death. 

In a few years the apostolic organization and priesthood 
were no more. A few glimmerings of spiritual light remained 
for a short time, among those who had taken refuge in the 
catacombs or subterranean vaults of Rome, or had fled to the 
wilds of the Libyan desert. But even this light was soon 
extinguished, and then fell that mental, moral, and spirituul 
night from which mankind are only now slowly emerging. 

But false religion could never satisfy the cravings of. the 
immortal soul. 

Paganism presented only a cheerless prospect. It gave 
itself no concern for the lowly and unfortunate, limited the 
hopes and destiny of man to this present life, and taught him 
that temporal prosperity might be selfishly gained at any cost 
to others in property and suffering. For example, Rome, for 
many ages had enriched herself with the wealth of conquered 
nations, and impoverished them that her sons and daughters 
might live in luxury and grandeur. Yet throughout her vast 
dominions there were no institutions of benevolence ; no hos- 
pitals for the sick, no asylums for the afflicted or unfortunate. 
The pleasant pastimes of her populace were to witness scenes 
of cruelty ; and the most refined ladies of that period eagerly 
thronged the amphitheatres to view the agonies of captives 
from distant tribes or early Christian martyrs as they were 
thrown to famished and enraged wild beasts in the public 
arena. Many of the early Christains were thus put to death 



14 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

in the Coliseum, the ruins of which are shown in the 



me 



cngrav- 



^S^C^SKS 




No wonder then that when the church was taken from the 
earth, and its forms amalgamated with pagan institutions, the 



IDEAS OF GOD PERVERTED. 15 

world presented an unparalleled scene of carnage and cruelty, 
bloodshed and terror. 

But Home was destined to endure a terrible retribution. 
The northern barbarians whom she had so long oppressed, 
and from whom she had drawn many of the victims of her 
gladiatorial combats now wreaked their long-sought vengeance, 
spreading terror and devastation wherever they went. 

One of them, Attila, king of the Huns, called himself the 
scourge of God, and boasted that grass never grew where his 
horse had trodden. These incursions spread an intellectual 
famine throughout Europe. The only men of learning were 
the monks, who seldom left their cloisters, and the only books 
were manuscripts concealed in the libraries of the monasteries. 
Not only were the common people extremely ignorant, but 
also the rich and noble, and even the kings could scarcely read 
or write. The reign of superstition was universal. The sim- 
plicity of primitive worship was changed to an unmeaning 
round of rites and ceremonies : and the glorious principles of 
the gospel were hidden from sight by a dark cloud of ignorance, 
mysticism and unintelligible jargon, out of which there too often 
flashed the lurid lightenings of priestly vengeance and persecu- 
tions. 

The Lord, speaking by the mouth of Jeremiah, says, 
"My people have committed two errors; they have forsaken 
me, the fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns, 
broken cisterns that can hold no water. " When the voice of 
revelation was hushed men began to follow fables and tradi- 
tions, and he who possessed the livliest imagination invented 
the greatest number. 

They, instead of the word of God, became the rule of life ; 
and men sought by bodily suffering to purchase admission to 
the courts of heaven. 

We pity the devotee of India, who measures by the length 
of his body, the wearisome journey of hundreds of miles; or 
the fakir who sits with his legs in an upright position, for 
years until the limbs becomes, withered, distorted and useless. 
But what shall we say of a professed follower of the Savior 
who makes a pilgrimage of a thousand miles with sharp spikes 
driven into the inside of his shoes, by which his feet are lacer- 



16 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 




FAKIR. 



WORSHIP CORRUPTED WITH HEATHEX RITES. IT 

ated at every step ! Or of one who spends the greater part of 
his life sitting on a colunfn thirty feet high and only three feet 
in diameter, through all the vicissitudes of the seasons, storm 
and sunshine, cold and heat, with the idea that, by this means, 
he could secure salvation and exaltation in the presence of 
Surely it was the self-same pagan idea that actuated 
ail. 

In those days. also, even the forms and ceremonies of the 
primitive church underwent complete transformation. Pagan 
rites were celebrated at Christian festivals, and days com- 
memorative of great events were made to conform to the times 
app the worship of heathen divinities. 

For example, the festival of Easter as observed by the 
holic church, was and still is 1 by pagan rites 

And the day that commemorates our Savior's birth, which 
event took place in April, when the shepherds were abroad on 
the plains of Bethlehem, with their flocks, was changed from 
the beautiful Spring time to the dark and gloomy December, 
that it might conform to dready set apart for pagan 

ceremonies, and by this means was secured its universal observ- 
ance. 

The ideas concerning <xod were also perverted. Space will 
permit only a glance at this subject. The passions that were 
control the character of heathen gods were attributed 
to the great Creator and loving Father of us all. He was 
represented a ting in vengeance; and glorying in the 

eternal sufferings of His creatures. Thus the most inhuman 
persecutors claimed they were doing His will; and hence 
arose the doctrine of endless torments beyond the grave, which 
still disgraces nearly all the sects of Christendom. The 
:rine of fate has ever been a prominent ductrine of pagan 
relig: 

This dogma w engrafted into their creed ; hence, we 

find learned teachers of the present age gravely asserting that, 

og to the unalterable decrees of God, there are young and 

irresponsible infants, scarcely a span in length, who are and 

ever will be doomed to suffer the torments of the lost. 

rich was the condition of the social and religious world at 
time of the Emperor Constantine. 



18 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

This politic prince was not a man of religious convictions, 
but hoping to consolidate his power and gain vast numbers of 
adherents he granted universal religious toleration and even 
went so far as to proclaim himself a Christian. 

This act of toleration gave a temporary protection to all 
classes and was of especial benefit to those who wished to 
retire from the confusion and corruption of the age, and 
spend their lives in pursuit of science, literature and 
philosophy. 

Such were the tasteless and often brutal amusements, the 
low sensuality, the base intrigue and bloody warfare of those 
times, that many longed for retirement and seclusion. 

Men and also women, sometimes of the highest rank, 
awoke, suddenly to the discovery that life was given them for 
nobler purposes. 

Loathing society, despising themselves, and often their com- 
panions, to whom they had been wedded in loveless marriages 
— companions whose infidelities and licentiousness they had 
too often, to endure, they fled from a world which had sated 
and sickened them. 

Thus arose the monastic order. 

By the side of Alpine torrents and in the valleys of Pied- 
mont, by the rocky shores of the beautiful .ZEgean sea and 
on its lonely yet lovely islands, as well as on the classic hill- 
sides of Judea, arose thousands of monasteries. 

At first, no doubt ,the inmates sought for a higher and purer 
life ; but after a time they too sunk into luxury, licentiousness 
and debauchery. 

Yet these monastic institutions served one good purpose, 
and that one was important. During these perilous times 
science and literature here found an asylum. Libraries were 
formed and carefully preserved, which, on the restoration of 
learning, were of great value to the world. 

The foregoing will indicate to some extent the condition of 
mankind at the close of the sixth century of the Christian era. 
The light of antiquity had perished. The dawn of modern 
days had not yet gilded the eastern horizon. The world pre- 
sented over its whole surface one vast field of contention aud 



THE MIDNIGHT HOUR OF HUMAN HISTORY. 19 

bloodshed, with scarcely an object sufficiently prominent to 
excite interest or deserve attention. 

It was the midnight hour of human history. 

Though the early church had been destroyed and the priest- 
hood taken from the earth : yet God did not give it up as lost. 
nor entirely withdraw His Spirit. Then as now "the earth is 
the Lord's." and He will yet make good His claim to it. It is 
a blood-bought world, and He who ransomed it at so dear a 
price will one day return to rule over it as King of kings and 
Lord of lords. The earth that was bedewed with the Savior's 
tears and sweat — the earth that was trodden by His hallowed 
feet — the earth that drank His life blood shall yet throw off 
the curse that has so long blighted it and receive its paradisaic 
glory. 

Through agencies the most diverse the minds of men were 
developed and disciplined for the reception of truth until in the 
Lord's due time in a 'prepared place and among a people pre- 
pared to receive His truth. He would again restore His priest- 
hood, and set up His kingdom upon the earth. 



20 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE, 



CHAPTER II. 



MAHOMET. 

DESCRIPTION OF ARABIA — ARABIAN CUSTOMS — BIRTH OF 
MAHOMET— EARLY LIFE — JOURNEY TO SYRIA — CHRISTIAN 
SECTS — DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY MAHOMET — HIS MARRIAGE 
— PROCLAIMS HIMSELF A PROPHET — PERSECUTION — FLEES 
TO MEDINA — BECOMES POWERFUL — SICKNESS AND DEATH 
— PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 

FAR away in the south-western part of Asia, lies a strange 
and peculiar country called Arabia. . It is bounded on the 
north by Syria, on the east by the Persian Gulf, on the south 
by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by the Red Sea, and 
comprises more than a million of square miles, or about twelve 
times the area of Utah. 

This vast region possesses a diversified landscape. In some 
places vast sandy deserts stretch away farther than the eye can 
reach ; in others, immense piles of dark volcanic rock rear aloft 
their barren peaks, around whose base the dry, hot winds have 
drifted the sands of the desert for untold centuries. However, 
in the secluded valleys of the mountains, and along the base 
of the great mountain chains, may be found many fertile 
tracts, where, watered by pure and never-failing mountain 
streams, and warmed by the rays of a tropical sun, the earth 
produces in abundance nearly every kind of grain, vegetable, 
fruit, flower and aromatic shrub that can conduce to the happi- 
ness of man. Indeed, some portions are so wonderfully pro- 
ductive, that in ancient as well as modern times it has received 
the significant title of ' ' Araby the blest. ' ' 

Most of the inhabitants of this country are generally con- 
sidered to be the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. 
Many of them lead a wild, nomadic life, supported by their 
flocks and herds and the spontaneous productions of the soil, 



ARABIAN CUSTOMS. 21 

and retain among their laws and customs, many of the usages 
that prevailed in the primitive, patriarchal times of their great 
ancestor. 

Others live in towns and cities and engage in commerce, 
either with foreign countries or with distant parts of their own 
land. 

The usual method of transporting their merchandise is on 
the backs of camels, and sometimes several hundred or even a 
thousand of these animals, accompanied by their drivers, may 
be seen slowly wending their way across the desert, carrying 
with them the coffee of Mocha and spices of Muscat to the 
distant cities of Bagdad and Damascus. 

As among the Jews the ruling priests were chosen from 
the tribe of Levi and family of Aaron, so, among the ancient 
Arabs, the guardians of the sacred things of their worship 
were chosen from the tribe of Koreish and family of 
Haschem. 

Abd-Al-Mutallib was the ruling priest in Mecca, the sacred 
city of Arabia, at the time that his grandson, Mahomet, was 
born, which event occurred at Mecca, in the year 570 of the 
Christian era. 

Of Mahomet's parents, but little is recorded, except that 
his father, Abdallah, was remarkable for his commanding 
presence and great personal beauty, He died when his future 
illustrious son was only two months old. Amina, his mother, 
who is said to have been of Jewish descent, also died when 
Mahomet was only six years old. 

The early life of Mahomet was spent in the house of his 
Uncle, Abou Taleb, who had become the principal guardian 
of the Ca-aba, or great temple, of ancient Arabian worship. 

The ceremonies and devotions connected with this temple- 
worship may have given an early bias to Mahomet's mind, and 
inclined it to those speculations and ideas in which it after- 
wards became engrossed. His education in childhood seems 
to have been neglected ; for he was not taught either to read 
or write. But he was a thoughtful child, quick to observe, prone 
to meditate on all that he had observed, and possessed of an 
imagination fertile, daring and expansive. 



22 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

At the age of twelve years, Mahomet solicited the privilege 
of accompanying his uncle, Abou Taleb, to Syria, whither he 
was about to conduct a caravan. Their route lay through 
regions fertile in fables and traditions, which it is the delight 
of the Arabs to recount in the evening halts of the caravan. 

With an attentive ear, the youthful Mahomet listened to 
those tales of enchantment and wonderful events which hap- 
pened in days of old, and doubtless imbibed ideas that had a 
powerful influence on him in his after life. In this journey also he 
listened to the conversation of many of those exiles from the 
Christian sects, who, in fleeiDg from persecution had taken 
refuge in the wilds of Northern Arabia. Thus he learned 
many facts concerning the Christian religion. 

Having arrived at the city of Bozrah, which was situated on 
the confines of Syria, about seventy miles south of Damascus, 
Mahomet was entertained at a Nestorian convent. One of 
the monks named Bahira, was very much interested by the 
spirit of inquiry and intelligence which the youth manifested, 
especially on religious subjects, and gave him all possible 
information. 

Mahomet returned to Mecca, his imagination teeming with 
the wild tales and traditions picked up in the desert, and his 
mind deeply impressed with the teachings he had received 
among tbe Nestorians. 

In'order that we may understand the nature of the teachings 
which Mahomet received on this and subsequent journeys to 
Syria, an enumeration of the leading dogmas of the jarring 
sects of oriental Christians will be necessary : 

The most numerous of these sects were the Arians, so called 
from Arius, a great religious teacher of Alexandria, They 
claimed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the Father; that 
His existence commenced at His advent in this world; that He 
was created for a special mission, but was subject to the influ- 
ences of virtue and vice like common mortals. 

The followers of Nestorius, the great bishop of Constanti- 
nople, were also very numerous ; and Mahomet, in his subse- 
quent journeys to Syria, frequently came in contact with them. 
They claimed that Christ had two distinct natures, human and 
divine; that Jesus was a man; that Mary was only His 



CHRISTIAN SECTS. 23 

mother according to the flesh, and that it was an abomination 
to style her "Mary the mother of Grod," as was and still is the 
custom of the Catholic church. 

Another sect was the Marianites, or worshipers of Mary. 
They regarded the trinity as consisting of God, the eternal 
Father, Mary, the eternal mother, and Christ, their Son. 

The Valentinians were another sect, who taught that Jesus 
Christ was only a wise and virtuous mortal, selected by God 
to reform and instruct mankind. Their creed is still professed 
by some of the Unitarian sects of the present day. 

The Nazarenes were a sect of Jewish Christians, who con- 
sidered Christ as the promised Messiah, but conformed in 
all other respects to the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic 
law. 

Many other sects might be enumerated who took their 
names from learned and zealous leaders, and who were 
subdivided into various and opposing parties of fanatical 
enthusiasts. 

A glance at these dissentions which convulsed society at this 
period is sufficient to acquit Mahomet of any charge of con- 
scious blasphemy in the opinions he taught concerning the 
nature and mission of our Savior. 

The principal doctrines taught by Mahomet were drawn 
from the writings of the Old and New Testaments. He recog- 
nized in all about three hundred prophets. This number 
included all the ancient worthies of the Old Testament, as well 
as the Savior and the apostles, evangelists and martyrs men- 
tioned in the New. However, four persons were considered as 
greater prophets than the rest, and were reverenced as the 
founders of four distinct dispensations. These were Abraham, 
Moses, Jesus and Mahomet. 

The book containing the writings and revelations of Mahomet 
is commonly called the Koran. However, Mahomet should 
not be held responsible for all that the Koran contains, as there 
is abundant evidence that it has been changed and corrupted 
in many places since his death. 

Prayer, fasting and acts of charity are inculcated by it. 
Merchants were especially commanded to perform acts of 
charity, as they were the class who were most liable to the sins 



24 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

of deception and extortion. The creed which all were required 
to believe, was simply, "There is one God, and Mahomet is 
His prophet." 

But little is known of Mahomet's history between his twelfth 
and twenty-fifth year. He seems to have been engaged prin. 
cipally in conducting caravans across the desert. He thereby 
gained much practical knowledge, and became known as a 
young "man of ability and integrity, pleasing appearance, and 
engaging manners. 

At the age of twenty-five, he became the steward or business 
agent of a certain wealthy widow, named Cadijah; and a few 
years later she married him and faithfully followed him till 
her death, through all the vicissitudes of his strange and 
eventful life. 

When Mahomet, in his fortieth year, proclaimed himself the 
prophet of God, Cadijah replied, "I will be thy first believer. " 
They knelt down in prayer together. 

Twelve centuries have passed since then, and nine thousand 
millions of human beings have followed her example. 

We are told that as Mahomet lay wrapped in his mantle, 
in the silent watches of the night, he heard a voice calling 
upon him. Uncovering his head, a flood of light burst 
upon him of such intolerable splendor that he swooned 
away. 

On regaining his senses, he beheld an angel, who, approach- 
ing him from a distance, displayed a scroll, covered with written 
characters. "Read," said the angel. 

"I know not how to read," replied Mahomet. 

"Read," repeated the angel, "in the name of God, who has 
created all things," 

Upon this, Mahomet instantly felt his understanding 
illumined, and read what was written. These words were after- 
wards promulgated in the Koran, which also contains many of 
the doctrines taught in the New Testament. 

When he had finished reading, the heavenly messenger 
announced, "0, Mahomet, verily thou art a prophet of God, 
and I am His angel Gabriel." 

Mahomet, we are told, came trembling and agitated to 
Cadijah in the morning, and told her what he had seen and 



MAHOMET FLEES TO MEDINA. 25 

heard. She saw everything with the eye of faith, and 
embraced those teachings with the devotion of an affectionate 
woman. 

" Joyful tidings dost thou bring!" exclaimed she. ''By 
Him in whose hand is the soul of Cadijah, I henceforth regard 
thee as the prophet of our nation. Rejoice! rejoice! Allah 
will not suffer thee to come to shame. Hast thou not been 
loving to thy kindred, kind to thy neighbors, charitable to the 
poor, hospitable to the stranger, faithful to thy word, and ever 
a defender of the truth?" 

The announcement of Mahomet's message provoked bitter 
opposition among his kindred. Only one of them, his cousin 
Ali, became his disciple. Those who had known him from his 
infancy, who had seen him a boy about the streets of Mecca, 
and afterwards engaged in the ordinary concerns of life, scoffed 
at the idea of his assuming the prophetic character. When 
he walked the streets he was subjected to jeers and insults. If 
he attempted to preach, his voice was drowned by discordant 
noises and ribald songs. As gradually his followers increased, 
so did the opposition in bitterness and intensity. 

At length he was obliged to flee from his native city and take 
refuge in Medina, a city of north-western Arabia. 

Space will not permit a recital of the numerous intrigues of 
his enemies, or his various successes. Suffice it to say that, 
in a few years he became the leader of a powerful, constantly- 
increasing and enthusiastic people. 

The time had at length arrived when the wild, wandering 
and discordant tribes of Arabia were to be marshalled under 
one banner, united in one creed and animated by one cause : 
when a mighty genius had arisen, who should bring together 
those scattered remnants, inspire them with his own religious 
zeal and daring spirit, and send them forth an invincible host, 
to shake and overturn the empires of the earth. 

Mahomet survived the most of his children, and died in the 
sixty-third year of his age. 

In his last illness, he gave his followers three parting com- 
mands: ' 'Expel all idolaters from Arabia ; allow every believer 
equal privileges with yourselves ; devote yourselves to prayer 
and the propagation of the faith. ' ' 
l* 



26 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

When the hour of death approached he feared it not, but, 
gazing upwards with unmoving eyelids, he exclaimed, "0, 
Allah! be it so, forever with the glorious associates in 
paradise." 

Thus passed away the man who gave embodiment to a 
faith that is still adhered to by more than 130,000,000 of the 
human family ; and who founded an empire that was the most 
extensive the world has ever seen. 

In appearance, he was of the middle stature. His head was 
capacious, and well set on a neck that rose like a pillar from 
his ample chest. He had an oval face, dark eyes, long, wavy 
hair and a full beard. His deportment was calm and dignified, 
and he is said to have possessed a smile of captivating sweet- 
ness. His complexion was fairer than Arabs usually are, and 
in his enthusiastic moments there was a glow and radiance to 
his countenance. He was extremely cleanly in his person, 
abstemious in his diet, and simple and unaffected in his dress 
and manners. He seemed to have an intuitive knowledge of 
human nature, and an innate power to counsel, command, 
reprove and inspire his followers with his own ardent nature. 
Take him all in all, the race has seldom seen a teacher more 
kind, more noble or more sincere. 



CAUSES OF TRIUMPH. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE SARACENIC CONQUEST. 



CAUSES OF TRIUMPHS— ABOU-BEKER ELECTED CALIPH— WAR 
DECLARED— FALL OF BOZRAH — BATTLE OF AIZNADIN— 
SIEGE OF JERUSALEM— DEPARTURE OF ROMAN EMPEROR 
— SARACEN FLEET— EASTERN CONQUESTS — FALL OF ALEX- 
ANDRIA—CONQUEST OF NORTHERN AFRICA — CONQUEST 
OF SPAIN — BATTLE OF POICTIERS — EXTENT OF SARACEN 
EMPIRE. 

AFTER the death of Mahomet, his followers assumed the 
name of Saracens, by which title they were afterwards 
generally known. This term, it is said, is derived from two 
Arabic words which signify eastern,- or oriental, and con- 
querors. 

Scarcely was Mahomet buried, when it was found necessary 
to form a civil and political constitution and code of laws, by 
which his followers were to be governed. This government was 
called the Caliphate. 

Mahometanism, even during the life of its founder, gave 
unmistakable indications of overpassing the bounds of Arabia. 

A few years later it entered upon a system of conquest 
unparalleled in the history of the world. 

One cause of this phenomenon is to be found in the moral 
and social condition of the world. The influence of religion 
had long before ceased. Christianity was completely paganized. 
Her popes were busy denouncing and excommunicating each 
other, in their rivalry for earthly power; or bribing royal 
females and courtesans to influence the decision of councils, 
that were supposed by the masses to speak with the voice of 
God. Her bishops no longer sought to feed their flocks with 
the bread of life. On the other hand they were concerned in 
assassinations, poisonings, adulteries, roits, treason and civil 



28 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

war. The religious teachers of those days never raised their 
voices in the sacred cause of liberty, or spoke in defense of the 
outraged rights of man. 

No wonder then that, in the midst of the wrangling of sects, 
and unintelligible jargon of Arians, Augustinians, Nestorians 
and Marianites, society stood in breathless awe, when it heard 
the terrible Arabian battle cry, "There is but one God, and 
Mahomet is His prophet! " enforced as it was by the tempest 
of Saracen armies. These warriors, armed with lances and 
cimeters, and mounted on fleet Arabian steeds, passed swiftly 
from city to city, and frequently found the masses of the people 
so crushed by tyranny, so worn out by wrangling and civil 
wars, that they welcomed the Saracens as deliverers. 

Mahomet's life had been almost entirely occupied in the 
conquest or conversion of his native country. It is true, in 
the latter part of his career he felt himself strong enough to 
threaten Persia for the aid she had given his enemies ; and he 
even declared war against the Roman Empire for the same 
reason. But failing health frustrated his designs. He had 
made no provision for .the perpetuation of his own power. 
Hence, a struggle ensued before a successor was appointed. 
At length, Abou Beker, the father of his wife Ayesha, was 
selected. He was proclaimed the first Caliph, and immediately 
attacked both the Romans and the Persians. 

The reknowned general, Khaled, commonly called by Saracen 
historians, "the sword of God," was despatched into Syria. 
His name struck terror into the hearts of the inhabitants. 
The fortified town of Bozrah fell into his hands without a 
struggle. This was the same town where fifty years previous 
the youthful Mahomet had been entertained at the Nestorian 
convent. Marching northward seventy miles, to Damascus, 
Khaled laid siege to the Syrian capital. A decisive battle took 
place on the plain of Aiznadin. The Roman army was over- 
thrown and dispersed. A few days later Damascus surrendered 
to the Saracens. 

Guarded on the right by the beautiful river Orontes, and on 
the left by the snow-clad peaks of Lebanon, they still continued 
their march northward. To resist their further progress, the 
Roman emperor, Heraclius, collected an army of one hundred 



SURRENDER OF JERUSALEM. 29 

and forty thousand men. A great battle took place on the 
plains of Yermuck. At the first onset the Saracens were 
repulsed ; but driven back to the field by the heroism of their 
women, who also aided them, they ended the conflict by the 
complete overthrow of the Roman army. 

The whole of Syria now fell into the hands of the Saracens. 

They then turned south and laid siege to the city of Jerusa- 
lem. After a defense of four months the patriarch, Sophronius, 
appeared on the wall and asked the terms of capitulation. It 
was stipulated that the surrender should take place in the pre- 




DAMASCUS. 

sence of the Caliph himself. Accordingly , he came all the way 
from Medina for that purpose. At that time such were the 
customs among the Saracens, that it is said the ambassador 
found the Caliph Omar asleep under the shadow of a mosque. 
It is also said that he journeyed alone on a red camel, carrying 
with him a bag of dates for his own food and one of corn for 
his camel, a wooden dish and a leathern water bottle. 

After receiving the surrender of the city, Omar returned to 
Medina as quietly as he had come. 

Thus fell the Roman power in Syria and Palestine, after 
having ruled those countries nearly eight hundred years. Thus 



30 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

was transferred without tumult or outrage the religious capital 
of the professedly Christian world into the hands of the Caliph 
Omar. Thus, Jerusalem, so long considered the birthplace of 
Christianity, the scene of its most sacred and tragic memories, 
passed into the hands of the Mahometans. Considerably more 
than a thousand years have elapsed since then, and it is still 
under their dominion. The mosque of Omar now rears its 
glittering dome where once stood the temple of Solomon. 

Heraclius, the Roman emperor, struggled valiantly to retain 
his possessions. He plainly saw that the corruptions of Chris- 
tianity were among the causes of Saracenic triumphs. He 
made a heroic attempt to rouse the clergy to their duties, but 
it was then too late. Heraclius himself was obliged to seek 
safety in flight. From the deck of the little vessel that bore 
him homeward, he gazed intently on the receding hills, and in 
bitterness of anguish exclaimed, "Farewell, Syria, forever 
farewell! " 

The remaining details of the Saracen conquest we need not 
here relate. The naming of their victories is sufficient to indi- 
cate the greatness of their triumphs. 

The great cities of Tyre and Caesarea were captured. With 
the cedars of Lebanon and sailors of Tyre they equipped a 
fleet that drove the Roman navy into the Hellespont. Thus 
they gained undisturbed control of the Mediterranean, and 
conquered or colonized the islands of Cyprus, Candia, Rhodes, 
Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and many others. A Saracen naval 
expedition even appeared before the walls of Rome, and after 
threatening the imperial city, carried away the altar of silver 
from St. Peter's church, and gathered other relics from the 
tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. 

One of the Saracen armies turned eastward, and on the battle- 
field of Cadesia the fate of Persia was decided. After the 
battle of Neha-vend the treasury and royal arms of Persia fell 
into the hands of the Saracens. 

After this battle the eastern army divided into two divisions. 
One marched northward to the Caspian Sea and took posses- 
sion of the neighboring countries ; another, southward to Per- 
sepolis, from whence the king of Persia fled for his life across 
the drearv deserts of Khorassan. The name of Saracen terri- 



FALL OF ALEXANDRIA. 31 

fied the wild tribes of independent Tartary, and they hastened 
to pay tribute and accept the faith of their conquerors. 

The emperor of China, in his palace at Peking, heard ot 
their exploits, and sent ambassadors to them, craving their 
friendship. The kingdoms now included in Afghanistan and 
Beloochistan surrendered at their approach, and the 
Mahometan standard of the crescent waved on the banks of 
the Indus. 

Meanwhile important events were transpiring in the west. 
A large proportion of the Egyptian people welcomed the Sara- 
cens. The Arabs of the desert loitered in the palaces of the 
ancient Pharaohs. Alexandria, aided by Roman troops, alone 
held out. After a siege of fourteen months it also fell, and 
with it Egypt and Abyssinia were added to the dominions of 
the Caliphs. 

The most powerful religious empire that the world has ever 
seen had suddenly sprung into existence. It stretched from 
the Great Wall of China to the burning sands of Tripoli, and 
from the Caspian Sea on the north to Abyssinia on the south. 
Yet this was but little more than half the territory that it 
soon afterwards controlled. One of its armies advanced on 
Constantinople. It did not fall then, but afterwards became 
the capital of the Mahometan power in Europe. Another 
took possession of the whole north of Africa, and, having 
consolidated its power there, under the command of their 
general, Tarik, they crossed the straits that separate Africa 
from Spain, and landing on the rocky clift of Gib-el-Tarik, or 
mountain of Tarik (now called Gibraltar), unfurled their green 
banner with golden crescent for the first time on the soil of 
Europe. 

Tarik was soon followed into Spain by his superior officer, 
the emir Musa. They took possession of the whole southern 
portion of Spain and Portugal, which in their own picturesque 
language, they named Andalusia, or the region of the 
evening. 

It was soon found that the whole peninsula was ripe for 
revolution. The Jews comprised a large proportion of the 
Spanish people. They were, to a great extent, the cultivators 
of the soil, which pursuit well repaid their labors. They were 



32 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

then, as now, famous as merchants and money-lenders, and 
many of them held high positions in the government, while 
thousands of them were scattered in every city, town and vil- 
lage, as the physicians and teachers of the people. 

Their wrongs had been accumulating for centuries. Bigotry, 
envy and avarice had conspired to point them out as objects of 
persecution. Laws were passed which were never intended to 
be executed. It was expected that they would purchase a 
remission of the penalties by pouring their hard-earned treas- 
ures into the lap of Eome. No doubt the Jews exulted as the 
tide of Saracen conquest swept onward. They did not deplore 
a change of masters for those who would leave them in posses- 
sion of civil and religious liberty. 

Before long the whole Iberian peninsula fell into the hands 
of the Mahometans. Not content with this, they crossed the 
Pyrenees, and took possession of that portion of France that 
lies to the south of the river Loire. All Central France was 
overrun. Castle?, churches and monasteries were despoiled. 
For a time they held undisturbed dominion. The empire of 
the Saracens was then at its greatest extent. It reached from 
the confines of China to the Atlantic ocean, and comprised 
within its limits forty degrees of latitude and nearly one hun- 
dred and twenty of longitude. In Western Europe alone it 
stretched in an unbroken line more than a thousand miles 
northward from the cliffs of Gibraltar. More than thirty-six 
thousand cities paid tribute to the successors of Mahomet in 
the city of Medina. 

In attempting to extend their conquests northward the 
Saracens were met by an army under Charles Martel, king of 
France, A. D. 732. Between Tours and Poictiers a terrible 
battle was fought, which lasted seven days. The Franks and 
Goths lost so many that it was impossible to tell the number 
of the slain. But these losses were more than counterbalanced 
by the losses of the Saracens whose great general, Abderahman, 
was found among the slain. Their previous successes had filled 
them with pride. They looked with contempt upon their 
enemies. For example, when the Roman emperor, Nicephor- 
ous, had sent a threatening letter to the Caliph Haroun-al- 
Raschid, the latter replied, "In the name of the most merciful 



EXTENT OF SARACEN EMPIRE. 33 

God, Haroun-al-Raschid, commander of the faithful, to Nice- 
phorous, the Roman dog! I have read thy letter, thou son 
of an unbelieving mother ! Thou shalt not hear my words; 
thou shalt behold my reply ! " A few weeks later it was writ- 
ten in letters of blood on the plains of Phrygia. 

Although the Saracen empire had reached the zenith of its 
power, in one sense Mahometanism had not reached its cul- 
mination. The day was to come, when under the name of 
Ottoman Turks, it would expel the descendants of the Caesars 
from their capital, hold the classic land of Greece in subjection, 
and under the very walls of Vienna dispute the empire of 
Europe in the center of that continent; and in Africa extend 
its dogmas and faith across burning deserts and pestilential 
forests far south of the equinoctial line. 

It is a mistaken idea that the progress of the Saracens 
depended on the sword alone. The causes of their success 
were many and various. One of these, the paganization of 
Christianity, has already been noticed. The long and desolat- 
ing wars of the Romans had thrown the whole oriental and 
African trade into the hands of the Arabs. Hence a commer- 
cial interest and sympathy had grown up between these peoples. 
Another reason was the mildness of the Saracen government 
in comparison with that of the Romans. The only taxation was a 
single annual tribute, amounting to less than one-half the 
various taxes by the Romans. Another feature was complete 
religious toleration except to idolators. The only creed required 
was simply, "There is but one God, and Mahomet is His pro- 
phet." Still, another cause of Saracen success was the effec- 
tive plan adopted for the consolidation of their power. In 
battle they were simply terrible, and the destruction of human 
life was in some instances without a parallel; yet the widows 
and children of their fallen foes were universally treated with 
kindness. As a consequence, the children became ardent 
disciples of Mahometanism, and the widows often married 
their former conquerors. This was all the more frequent as 
polygamy was an established custom. The children of 
these unions gloried in their descent from their conquering 
fathers. 



34 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

No wonder then, that in a little more than a single genera- 
tion Abderahman wrote to the Caliph that in North Africa and 
Andalusia all tribute must cease, as all the children born in 
those regions were Mahometans, and Arabic had become the 
language of the county. 

But above all these causes, the careful student of history will 
perceive the hand of Providence. Though Christianity was 
paganized, and the priesthood and divine authority were taken 
from the earth, God had put forth His hand, and through 
agencies the most diverse was disciplining the minds of men 
for the reception of truth, and preparing a place and a people 
for the coming of the Son of Man. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SARACENS. 



INTELLECTUAL STAGNATION— SARACENS AND JEWS REVIVE 
LEARNING — UNIVERSITY OF BAGDAD — PUBLIC SCHOOLS — 
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CAIRO— CIRCULATING LIBRARY — 
MODERN FORM OF BOOKS — ARABTC NOTATION — DIS- 
COVERIES IN CHEMISTRY — ROTUNDITY OF THE EARTH — 
MARINER'S COMPASS — DISCOVERIES OF ALHAZIN — ASTRO- 
NOMICAL OBSERVATORIES— GOLDEN AGE OF JUDAISM — 
CITIES OF ANDALUSIA — SARACEN DWELLINGS— CONDI- 
TION OF WOMEN— FEMALE PHYSICIANS. 

THE civilized world is dotted over with theological semi- 
naries, the teachers in which are considered to be men 
well educated in the learning of ancient and modern times. 
The avowed purpose of these institutions is to teach the facts, 
philosophy and history of the so-called Christian religion, yet 
not a teacher in these institutions can be found who dares 
to assert the stupendous fact that from the time of the apostles 
to the ninth century science, literature and philosophy were 
well nigh extinct. During all this time, with the exception 



INTELLECTUAL STAGNATION. 'So 

of Jewish and Saracen writers, scarcely a work can be found 
of sufficient merit to rescue the name of the author from 
oblivion. Let the skeptic answer this question : Why was 
it that when the voice of inspiration was hushed and the 
gospel and its ordinances taken from the earth, there fell upon 
it an intellectual stagnation, an invisible atmosphere of 
oppression, ready to crash dowa morally and physically what- 
ever provoked its weight? Thus the dreary and weary 
centuries rolled on, until a nation, hitherto considered bar- 
barous, yet of the seed of Abraham, and heirs of the promises 
made to Ishmael and Esau, aroused society from the hideous 
fanaticism, ignorance and superstition into which apostasy had 
plunged it. 

If it be true that the Saracens burned the Alexandrian 
library, it must be considered that this was the act of an 
uneducated general and the vengeance of the soldiery after a 
terrible siege, rather than the deliberate policy of the govern- 
ment. Within twenty-five years from the death of Mahomet 
the Caliphs had become famous for their patronage of learn- 
ing. Ali, the fourth Caliph and son-in-law of Mahomet, used 
to say, "The world is sustained by four things only : the 
prayers of the good, the learning of the wise, the justice of 
the great, and the valor of the brave." This sentiment was 
echoed and re-echoed until it became an honored maxim in the 
minds of millions. 

Under the influence of Jewish, Nestorian and Saracen 
teachers the manners of the Saracens became more polished 
and their thoughts more elevated. They made conquests in 
the realms of science, literature and the arts as quickly as in 
the provinces of the Roman empire. 

For example, Almansor, who reigned as Caliph from A. D. 
753 to 775, established the University of Bagdad, and endowed 
it with two hundred thousand pieces of gold, and an annual 
revenue of fifteen thousand dinars, equal in commercial value 
to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars of our money. 
He invited thither learned men from every land, irrespective 
of their religious opinions. By these men were founded 
celebrated schools of mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, 
medicine, law and languages. 



36 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

His grand-son, Haroun-al-Raschid, ordered in A. D. 786, 
that a public school should be attached to every mosque in 
his dominions. This was more than seven hundred years 
before the establishment of the famous parish schools of 
Scotland. 

The Caliph-al-Mamun, in A. 1). SI 3, founded the great 
medical college of Cairo, which required students to pass a 
rigid examination before receiving authority to enter on the 
practice of their profession. At this college we have the 
first account of dissecting human bodies for the purpose of 
ascertaining the nature and locality of diseases, and the first 
circulating library for students. These books were bound 
according to the modern form, which then began to be used 
among the Saracens in place of the ancient form of the scroll. 

By the means just mentioned, the ancient sciences were 
greatly extended and new ones introduced. To the Saracens 
we are indebted for our present system of arithmetical nota- 
tion. If, for example, we wish to multiply 1882 by 125 and 
then attempt it by the ancient method MDCCCLXXXll. , multi- 
plied by cxxy. , we shall soon perceive the vast superiority of 
the Arabic system over that formerly in use. No wonder, 
then that under the ancient system those who were engaged 
in solving difficult mathematical problems were frequently 
styled "sweating calculators." 

In this case as in many others the Arab has left his impress 
on this science. For instance, our word cipher, and kindred 
words, such as decipher, ciphering, etc., are derived from 
the word tsaphara, or cipJtra, the name for the in the Arabic 
language. 

In experimental sciences, they originated chemistry and 
discovered the nature and properties of sulphuric acid, nitric 
acid, alcohol and many other chemical agents. From their 
schools of medicine may be traced such words as julep, syrup, 
elixir, alchemy, etc. To them we are indebted for algebra,, or 
universal arithmetic, and in astronomy they made such advances 
that many constellations and stars of the first magnitude 
still retain the Arabic names. 

In geography, the Saracens made important discoveries. 
Hitherto mankind had been taught that the earth was a vast 



THE MARINER S COMPASS. 

plain, surmounted by an immense vault commonly called the 
sky. They were the first to prove that the earth is a vast 
globe, or ball; and in order to determine its size, they first 
ascertained on the level shore of the Red sea the exact posi- 
tion of the North Star. Then traveling directly north until 
it had attained another degree of elevation, they measured 
the distance between these points, and multiplying the result 
by three hundred and sixty (the number of degrees in a circle), 
they found the earth to be nearly twenty-five thousand miles 
in circumference. So accurate were their observations and 
measurements that the best calculators of recent times differ 
from them less than one-third of a mile. 

Five hundred years later the Roman pontiffs were excom- 
municating and torturing those who taught the rotundity of 
the earth. While Catholic monks were teaching, in all its 
absurdity, the flatness of the earth, and how it rested on a vast 
rock, and that rock on another and so on all the way down to 
the bottom (?), the Saracens were teaching geography from 
globes in their common schools. It cost a long struggle 
through several centuries. ' ; with spiritual wickedness in high 
places."' before the truth finally triumphed. 

European historians have generally given great credit to 
Pope Gregory for the invention and adoption of the Gregorian 
calendar and a more accurate method of measuring the exact 
length of the civil year. Yet. Gregory only adopted what had 
been discovered and taught by Thebit-Ben-Corrah. the Sara- 
cen astronomer, more than five hundred years before, and what 
Gregory himself had learned in youth while attending a Sara- 
cen university. 

The mariner's compass was well known to the Arabs, who 
probably brought it from China and introduced it to the nation.- 
of Europe. From this we may correctly infer that they were 
a maritime people. In fact, long before the time of Mahomet, 
Arabian merchants were acquainted with the Indies, and even 
China and the eastern coast of Africa as far south as Mada- 
■ar. 

Alhazin. who wrote about A. 1>. 1080, made the great 
discovery of atmospheric refraction — that a ray of light when 
it touches the atmosphere is bent from a straight line : and 



38 TFTE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

consequently we see the sun before it rises and after it sets, in 
the same manner that an object lying at the bottom of a 
bucket filled with water appears in quite a different position 
from that in which it really is. He was the first to give that 
beautiful and scientific explanation of twilight, viz., the 
refraction of light, which is still regarded by modern scientists 
as the true one. He even attempted to ascertain the height 
of the atmosphere, which he estimated to be about fifty- 
eight and a half miles. This philosopher also wrote a treatise 
on weights and measures, and introduced that excellent system 
of weighing by means of a small, movable weight attached to 
the longer arm of a lever, as in our modern scales or steel- 
yards. The Arabian astronomer, Ebn-Junis, was the first who 
made use of the pendulum in the machinery of clocks for the 
accurate measurement of the hours. 

In the golden age of the Saracen empire, there were col- 
leges in every part of its vast dominions. So numerous were 
these institutions, that more than six thousand students 
received instructions in them annually. In the far east were 
the college and astronomical observatory of Samercand ; while 
in the western province of Andalusia were the famous school 
and observatory of Griralda. 

The first medical college established in Europe was that 
founded by the Saracens at Salerno, in Italy; the first famous 
school of mathematics and astronomy was that established by 
them at Seville, in Spain. 

Among them, learning was not confined to the rich, but 
every class received its benefits. The teachers of their col- 
leges were paid liberal salaries for their services, and an 
allowance was made for indigent scholars, so that the son of 
the mechanic could graduate from the same class as the heirs 
of the Caliphs. 

At first glance it seems remarkable that the wild ferocity of 
the Arabs should so suddenly change into a passion for 
intellectual pursuits ; yet it should not be forgotten that this 
ferocity was to a great extent caused by religious enthusiasm. 
Thus, when the General Akbah had conquered his way from 
Egypt to the Atlantic ocean, opposite the Canary Islands, he 
rode his- horse into the sea and drew his sword, exclaiming, 



GOLDEN AGE OF JUDAISM. 39 

"Great Allah! if my course were not stopped by this sea, I 
would still go on to the unknown regions of the West, preach- 
ing the unity of thy holy name, and putting to the sword 
the rebellious nations who worship any other gods than thee." 

Again, when we consider that a large majority of their 
teachers and philosophers were of the Jewish nation, we see 
a beautiful Providence in all this. The remnants of God's 
chosen people, though exiles and wanderers, despised and 
down-trodden by the Gentiles, were yet the instruments in 
God's hands for the execution of His purposes and the ele- 
vation of the race. 

Surely there is a broader, higher, grander meaning in the 
promise given to Abraham, u In thy seed shall all the nations 
of the earth be blessed/' than many are willing to admit! And 
this is all the more remarkable, that, at the very time when 
mankind so much needed instruction, should occur what Mil- 
man so aptly terras, "The golden age of Judaism." Not an 
age of royal pomp and political power — that passed away with 
David and Solomon — but an age of intellectual culture, scien- 
tific research and practical discovery. 

Strange it would appear to the casual student, if upon 
further research he should find that all great religious teachers 
have been of Israelitish origin, as well as a large proportion 
of those who have achieved distinction in the arts and 
sciences. But it was'in Spain, southern France and Sicily 
that the Saracens attained their greatest power and influence; 
for there they came in contact with the nations of western 
Europe, and so influenced European manners, customs and 
modes of thought that through them that influence has been 
transmitted to our times. 

To the ingenuity of the Saracens we are indebted for the 
origin of many articles of clothing and personal comfort. 
Their religion taught them to be clean in person. They did 
not therefore clothe themselves, according to prevailing customs 
in that age, in an under-garment made from the skins of wild 
beasts — a garment which remained unwashed and unchanged 
until it dropped to pieces of itself, a loathsome mass of vermin, 
stench and rags. They taught us the use of that often- 
changed and often-washed garment commonly called a shirt. 



40 TlfK HANI) OV PUOVIDEMC& 

which still is known among the ladies under its old Arabic 
name, chemise. 

To them we are indebted for some of our most valuable 
fruits, such as the apricot and peach. 

Remembering the cooling effects of water in their own 
hot climate, they spared no pains in constructing artificial 
lakes and fountains and streams for the irrigation of their 
gardens. 

Andalusia became the paradise of the world. The capital 
was Cordova, which they greatly embellished as well as the 
rival cities Toledo, Seville and Granada. A person might 
walk for miles through their cities after night- fall by the light 
of their public lamps. Seven hundred years afterwards, not a 
single public lamp could be found in the city of London. The 
streets of these cities were solidly paved, through which rolled 
magnificent carriages, drawn by horses, the fame of which 
has descended to our times. Five hundred years later the 
sovereigns of Great Britain and Germany were still traveling 
in uncouth wagons, drawn by oxen, goaded on by pedestrian 
drivers. 

The sidewalks of Cordova, Toledo, Seville and Granada were 
paved with flagstones; while at a corresponding period the 
inhabitant of London or Paris who ventured beyond his 
threshold on a rainy day sank ankle f deep in filth and mud. 
Their residences were frequently in the midst of orchards or 
embosomed in shady groves. They had cool and spacious 
porches for rest in the heat of the day. Often these porches 
had roofs of stained glass, on which fell in soothing cadences the 
glittering pearl-drops of water from elevated fountains. 

Their houses were usually built of brick or stone, and con- 
tained many apartments, such as sleeping rooms, baths, 
libraries, parlors and dining halls. In the best class of 
dwellings, the ceilings were frescoed and the walls covered 
with paintings, representing scenes of paradise, groves and 
fruits, lawns and fountains. Yet, delineations of the human 
form, either nude or partly so, were religiously forbidden, as 
it was considered that such representations were promotive of 
licentiousness. 



SARACEN DWELLINGS. 



41 



Some of these apartments were furnished with musical 
instruments, where the young of both sexes were wont to 
join in mirth and festivity, and dancing to the music of the 




INTERIOR OF A SARACEN PALACE. 

lute and mandolin. In others, the sedate and reflecting, could 
engage in scientific research or philosophical discussion. The 



42 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

dwellings of the rich were carpeted, and sometimes warmed 
by furnaces in winter and cooled in summer with perfumed 
air, brought by under-ground pipes from distant flower 
gardens. The use of wine was prohibited. The feasts of 
the Saracens were marked with sobriety, and furnished a 
pleasing contrast to the drunken revelries of their northern 
neighbors. 

The enchanting moonlight evenings of Andalusia were fre- 
quently spent by the devout in sequestered gardens, consoling 
themselves for the disappointments of this life by the hope of 
immortality, and reconciling themselves to their daily toil by 
the expectation of the joys of paradise, where flowers never 
fade nor fruits decay, where sickness, and sorrow, and death 
are known no more. 

Under Saracen government, religious persecution was 
unknown. Students from Great Britain, Ireland, France and 
Germany came to study at Saracen universities. There, among 
distinguished characters, whose names and influence have 
descended to our times, was Frederick, afterwards Frederick 
II. , king ot Italy; Gerbert, afterwards famous as Pope Syl- 
vester II. ; Peter the Venerable, Abelard, the poet, and Arnold 
of Brescia. 

No wonder then that the Saracens looked with contempt 
upon the barbarism of the native races of Europe, who couid 
scarcely be said to have emerged from the savage state — 
unclean in person, benighted in mind, inhabiting huts in which 
it was a mark of wealth if there were bulrushes on the floor 
and straw mats against the wall ; subsisting on barley, beans, 
cabbages, herbs and even the bark of trees ; clothed in rudely- 
tanned skins of wild animals, which were famous indeed for 
durability, but not very conducive to personal cleanliness. 

But the arts, sciences and general culture were not confined 
to the Saracen men alone. Among the women there were 
many who, like Valada, Ayesha, Labana and Algasania, 
achieved a national reputation. Some of these were daughters 
of Caliphs, who considered it not beneath their dignity to 
devote their lives to science and the elevation of their sex. 
Where shall we find their equals at that time in so-called Chris- 
tian countries? Albucasis, a celebrated physician of Cordova, 



FEMALE PHYSICIANS. 43 

in his medical works, makes mention of several female physi- 
cians, and recommends the employment of such in certain cases. 
No doubt the condition of women was superior and their duties 
and position better understood among polygamous Saracens 
than in monogamous Christendom. 

The foregoing will indicate to some extent the condition of 
Saracen society in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Shall we 
compare it with the contemporary barbarism of the other por- 
tions of Europe ? 

Were we to pursue this subject further it would not be diffi- 
cult to show that Venice owed her commercial greatness to 
Saracen fleets and Jewish merchants ; that Marco Polo only 
traveled over countries already well delineated on maps, and 
well described by Abulfeda and other Arabian geographers ; 
that Columbus himself first received scientific proof of the 
rotundity of the earth while corresponding with Torricelli, the 
great Florentine astronomer, who in turn had received his edu- 
cation at the Saracen university of Seville, and modelled his 
globes, maps and charts from those in its possession. 

The careful student of history must deplore the attempts 
made by many historians to ignore our indebtedness to the 
Saracens, who in the providence of (rod have left their impress 
on the religions, arts and sciences of the world. Surely preju- 
dice founded on national conceit and sectarian bigotry cannot 
last forever. 



44 THE HAND OF PROVTDENCF. 



CHAPTER V. 



REMARKABLE CITIES OF MEDIEVAL 
TIMES. 



JERUSALEM THE SACRED CITY — ALEXANDRIA NOTED FOR 
PHILOSOPHY— SCHOOL OF HYPATIA — MOB MURDERS HER 
— DOCTRINES OF CYRIL— JERUSALEM A SCENE OF SUFFER- 
ING — FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY — HERCULANEUM AND 
POMPEII — THEIR DESTRUCTION*— EVIDENCES OF THEIR 
WICKEDNESS — EXCAVATIONS— ROMAN RULE — REMOVAL 
OF CAPITAL— CRIMES OF CONSTANT! NE — COMMENCEMENT 
OF GREEK EMPIRE— DESCRIPTION OF CONSTANTINOPLE 
— ITS CAPTURE BY CRUSADERS — TAKEN BY THE TURKS — 
INTELLECTUAL DEGRADATION — PRIESTCRAFT — DEBAUCH- 
ERY — TURKISH RULE. 

THE four great cities of medieval times were Jerusalem, 
Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople. The first named 
has ever been the sacred city; not merely of the Jews, but also 
of devout Christian pilgrims of all ages. Daring the crusades it 
was the great object for the possession of which so much blood 
and treasure were expended. 

Alexandria, for the first three centuries of the Christian era, 
was the commercial metropolis of the world, as well as the 
chief seat of pagan learning and philosophy. It was here 
that Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, the mathematician, 
held her famous school. Each day before her academy stood 
a long train of chariots. Her lecture room was crowded with 
the cultured classes of Alexandria. They came to ask those 
profound questions that human reason, unaided, can never 
answer: u What am I? Where am I? What can I know?" 

At this time, Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, was attempt- 
ing to force upon the world his trinitarian views. His absurd 
ideas could not endure the sharp criticism of philosophic 



ALEXANDRIA NOTED FOR "PHILOSOPHY. 45 

minds. Cyril employed a mob of Alexandrian monks. Amid 
the fearful yelling of these bare-legged and black-cowled fiends, 
Hypatia was dragged from her chariot. In mortal terror she 
fled to an adjacent church, and was there brutally murdered by 
the club of Peter the Reader. But this was not all. We can 
only get a faint idea of the depraved condition of paganized 
Christianity, when we call to mind the fact that the monks fin- 
ished their infernal crime by dismembering her body and scrap- 
ing the flesh from her bones with oyster shells. 

Cyril then procured the banishment of all who held opposing 
doctrines, and thus his absurd doctrines were forced upon 
society. Such was the debased condition of society in a city 
where had been planted one of the apostolic churches. As vice 
increased her prosperity decreased. During the reign of Con- 
stantine, the influence of Alexandria was much diminished, and 
with the Mahometan conquest it fell to the rank of a provincial 
town. 

Jerusalem, once the "glory of the earth, and the pride of 
the nations,'" never recovered from the siege by Titus, in A. D. 
70. The answer which the Jews made to Pilate, lt Mu blood 
be upon us and upon our children," which they spake in 
reference to the Savior, has been terribly and literally fulfilled. 
It may be safely asserted that Jerusalem has witnessed more 
scenes of human suffering than any other spot on earth. 

Who does not see the hand of Providence in her retribution, 
as well as in the fate of Herculaneum and Pompeii? 

These cities were destroyed in A. D. 19, by an eruption of 
Mount Vesuvius, and buried by a shower of ashes, sand and 
stones. Herculaneum was situated about eight miles south 
of the present city of Xaples, and Pompeii about fifteen miles 
eastward. 

Thus they remained buried for nearly seventeen hundred 
years. Extensive excavations have been made during the 
past century, disclosing the city walls, streets, temples, theatres, 
private dwellings, domestic utensils and statuary. Many 
objects have been found which indicate the wicked and licen- 
tious character of the inhabitants, and go to prove that they 
were ripe for the destruction which awaited them. The inhabi- 
tants died just as the catastrophe found them, guests in their 



46 THE HAND OP PROVIDENCE. 

banqueting halls, soldiers at their posts, prisoners in their 
dungeons, maidens at the mirror and students at their books. 



ERUPTION OP MOUNT VESUVIUS. 



DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII. 47 

When the city was unearthed, the houses were found stand- 
ing. The interior paintings were still fresh, and the skeletons 
remained in the very position and the very place in which 
death had overtaken them so long ago. The marks left by the 
cups of the tiplers still remained on the counters ; the prison- 
ers still wore their fetters, the ladies their chains and brace- 
lets. The researches are still going on, new wonders are every 
day coming to light, and we shall soon have quite a distinct 
idea of Roman towns in the first century of the Christian 
era. 

Rome, from before the commencement of the Christian era, 
had been the political and military capital of the world. From 
her gates issued forth those imperial armies that conquered 
nations and crushed the liberties of mankind. Her rule was 
not one of reason but one of force. From the age of Augustus 
Caesar her power had been waning, and when the Emperor 
Constantine removed the capital to Constantinople, Rome 
became a city of secondary importance. Though her political 
prestige was gone she became the seat of a religious empire 
which had and still has a mighty influence in the nations of 
the earth. The wrongs which she inflicted on others have 
recoiled with terrible retribution on herself. Her ruins are 
silent and majestic witnesses of the providence of God. 

To the reign of Constantine the Great, must be referred the 
commencement of those dark and dismal times which oppressed 
Europe for a thousand years. 

Constantine, while dwelling at Rome, had murdered his son 
Crispus, his nephew Licinius, and had suffocated, in a steam 
bath, his wife, Fausta, to whom he had been married twenty 
years, and who was the mother of three of his sons. 

The public abhorance of his crimes could no longer be con- 
cealed. Constantine therefore determined to change his resi- 
dence and build another metropolis, which he named in honor 
of himself. He also found it politic to favor the paganized 
and wrangling Christian sects, that by their aid he might be 
able to triumph over the powerful coalition that had been 
formed against him. The reign of Constantine is therefore 
the true close of the Roman empire : the beginning of the 
Greek. The transition from the one to the other is emphati- 



48 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

cally and abruptly marked, by a new metropolis and a new 
national religion. 

Constantinople, at present the capital of the Turkish empire, 
stands, like Rome, on seven hills, and on a tongue of land 
projecting into the Bosphorus, which here forms an inlet or 
small bay known as the Golden Horn. 

The Bosphorus, as most of our readers are aware, is the 
name given to the strait through which flow the waters of the 
Black sea into the sea of Marmora, and which divides Europe 
from Asia. 

Constantinople is admirably situated for commerce. This is 
one reason why Russia has so long looked upon it with a 
covetous eye. In fact, the reason why the bay, on the shores 
of which the city is built, has been called the "Golden Horn," 
or horn of abundance, is because into it was brought the 
wealth of three continents and the products of every clime. 

That which is commonly called Constantinople, in reality 
consists of three great cities, divided by arms of the sea, yet 
so near to each other that the edifices of either of the cities 
may be seen distinctly from the other two. 

The view here given represents Constantinople looking from 
the north. In the background is seen the city of Scutari, on 
the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. The hills in the distance 
are those of Asia Minor. On the right is shown the city of 
Stamboul, which stands on the site of the ancient Byzantium, 
and the foreground represents the modern city of Galata, 
where the greater part of the foreign population resides, and 
where the exchange, custom-house, and most of the churches, 
convents and hospitals are situated. 

As here depicted the current of the Bosphorus flows from 
left to right and disappears in the distance. 

The history of this city is very remarkable, and runs far 
back into the mist of antiquity. Long before the Christian 
era it was a place of considerable trade and political importance. 
Here the barbarians from the coast of the Black sea came to bar- 
ter their furs for the products of more favored regions. Near 
this point Alexander the Great crossed the Bosphorus on his 
great campaign of eastern conquests In the second century 
before Christ, the Romans having subdued the neighboring 



50 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

countries, built a fort on the site of the ancient city and named 
it Byzantium. 

The Roman emperor, Constantine the Great, enlarged and 
beautified the city and made it the capital of the Roman 
empire, and in honor of himself changed the name to Con- 
stantinople. After his death the Roman empire was divided, 
and Constantinople continued to be the capital of the eastern 
division. 

For more than one thousand years it was the residence of 
the Csesars and the commercial metropolis of the world. 

Owing to the religious rivalry of Rome it was taken and 
partly burned, by the Crusaders, in A. D. 1205. But the 
most memorable siege it has ever endured was in A. D. 1453, 
when it fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks. By a 
strange coincidence a Constantine gave his name to the city, 
and a Constantine reigned at its fall. 

It was on the morning of April 6th, A. D. 1453, that Mahomet 
II. , gave the signal for the attack, and the Turkish cannon 
(then a new invention) thundered against the walls of the 
city. For fifty days the siege was carried on with little success. 
At last, food was getting scarce, and the pangs of hunger were 
sorely felt by the Christians within the city. But hope revived 
as away on the sea of Marmora, they spied five great ships 
well laden with supplies and with the Christian flag unfurled. 
Onward the vessels flew before the breeze, but what a sight 
met them as they neared the port ! Three hundred Turkish 
ships were drawn up in a line across the straits, each filled 
with troops and eager for the fight. But there were brave 
hearts in those five gallant Christian ships, full willing to meet 
the outnumbering enemy. Gaily they careened before the 
swelling breeze, and steering straight for the Turkish line bore 
down upon the foe. Suddenly from the Christian ranks 
there burst a joyous shout, as the Turkish ships first wavered 
and then fled. In vain the fierce sultan, Mahomet II. , mad 
with rage, called upon his captains to make good the fight. 
But the rent was made, and amid a hundred thousand Chris- 
tian cheers the succoring ships sailed in victoriously to the 
Golden Horn, and many a mother's heart was glad as she 
closely clasped her half-famished child. 



CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 51 

A strong chain had meanwhile been placed across the har- 
bor, to prevent the entrance of the Turkish fleet. But 
Mahomet was determined not to be baffled. In the silence of 
the night he caused eighty boats to be dragged ten miles 
across the neck of land that divides the sea of Marmora from 
the tip of the Golden Horn. Rafts were then made, on which 
cannon were floated to bombard the city from the harbor. 

By the 29th of May all was ready for the final battle. The 
great Byzantine empire, once foremost in the powers of the 
world, had shrunk into the narrow limits of a few square 
miles. 

The sun had set, and night fell upon the contending hosts. 
Christian warriors, as they lay under the starry canopy of 
heaven, cast off the sterner half of man, and let their softer 
natures free : and loving thoughts of sisters, mothers, wives 
went winding through the air, to meet in last embrace. 

And now the solemn calm before the storm drew near, and 
all was hushed and still. Constantine did not sleep. He knew 
that his hour was at hand. With a few chosen knights, he 
retired to the great church of St. Sophia, and there uncovered 
stood before the cross. To-morrow the great Byzantine empire 
would pass away with him! His tears fell thickly at the 
thought ; and he prayed that he might die as became a Chris- 
tian knight. Then for the last time he partook of the sacra- 
ment, and, turning to those around, he said, "I pray forgive- 
ness if I have injured any one in thought, or word, or deed." 

He stepped to the portal of the church, where stood his 
impatient steed, placed his helmet on his noble head, and 
mounting into the saddle, the humble penitent rode off as 
warrior Christian king, to battle and to die. He was after- 
wards found among a heap of the slain. 

The banner of the cresent waved over the waters of the 
Bosphorus, and what was then the richest capital and finest 
country in Europe. Four hundred and thirty years have 
rolled by since then. It is still in their possession. 

The appearance of Constantinople at the present time is 
very peculiar. The city is embosomed in gardens, orchards 
and vineyards. The houses are for the most part built in the 
form of a hollow square, with flat roofs and the windows facing 



52 THE HAND OP PROVIDENCE. 

inward. This gives to the compact parts of the city a rather 
dingy appearance. The streets, especially in the ancient por- 
tions, are extremely narrow, and frequently filthy. It is 
therefore pleasant to turn from these crowded thoroughfares, 
and in a few moments' walk, find yourself surrounded with 
shady trees, singing birds, fountains and flowers. 

Here, in the limits of a single city, may be found represen- 
tatives of almost every race and clime. The fair-haired natives 
of northern Europe, the swarthy inhabitants of Tartary, tall 
fierce-looking Circassians, and flat-nosed, woolly-headed negroes 
from central Africa; all mingling with the more polished 
inhabitants of western Europe, each dressed in his own pecu- 
liar garb, and presenting a living picture no less striking than 
strange. In this great hive of humanity may be heard at 
least fifty different languages making a complete Babel of 
sounds. Here, also, may be seen in striking contrast, the 
different manners, customs and usages of oriental and western 
nations. 

The different methods used in the transportation of merchan- 
dise are no less peculiar ; for while on the eastern side of the 
city, may be seen approaching long caravans of camels laden 
with the rich products of the East, on the western side may be 
heard the shriek of the locomotive, announcing the arrival of 
a train, bringing passengers, merchandise and latest intelli- 
gence from western nations. 

But the most significant custom is that five times a day the 
muezzins, or Mahometan priests, ascend to the top of the mos- 
ques (as places of worship are called) and which are thickly 
scattered through the city, and in a loud wailing voice exclaim, 
u God is great! There is one God ! Mahomet is His prophet! 
Come to prayer!" This is repeated four times facing the east, 
south, west and north, and has a penetrating effect on the 
mind of the hearer, much more than the sound of the church- 
bell of the Christians, or the trumpet of the Jews. 

Most European historians have lamented the seizure of Con- 
stantinople by the Turks as a terrible disaster. To the 
unprejudiced student of history there seems to be but little 
reason for regret. For eleven hundred years Constantinople 
had greatly influenced the destinies of the world ; but during 



EFFECTS OF TURKISH RULE. 53 

all that time her power had tended more to the degradation 
than to the elevation of mankind. Her citizens possessed all 
the classical writings and works of art of the great authors of 
antiquity : yet in a thousand years they never produced one 
original, never advanced one step in philosophy or science, or 
made a single practical discovery. What was it that produced 
this barrenness, this intellectual degradation in Constantinople? 
It was the tyranny of priestcraft over thought. For a thou- 
sand years Constantinople had been not merely the leading 
commercial city, but also the leading city in debauchery and 
crime. In this respect it has vastly improved under Turkish 
rule. At the present time, especially in the Mahometan 
portions of the city, it is the least licentious of all the great 
capitals of modern Europe. 



CHAPTER VI 



RELIC-WORSHIP, PILGRIMAGES 
AND CRUSADES. 



GROWTH OF RELIC-WORSHIP — SCHEMES OF THE ROMAN 
PONTIFFS— MANUFACTURE OF RELICS— THEIR GREAT 
VARIETY — VALUE OF RELICS— INSULTS OFFERED TO PIL- 
GRIMS — PETER THE HERMIT — CRUSADES — DISORDERLY 
RABBLE — TERRIBLE SUFFERING— CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM 
—TERRIBLE MASSACRE— CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE- 
CRUSADES OF THE CHILDREN— RESULT OF THE CRUSADES 
— REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 

IN previous chapters has been traced the apostasy of the 
early church, also the career of Mahomet, and the con- 
quests and achievements of the Saracens. While these events 
were transpiring, other causes were at work which led eventu- 
ally to the elevation of mankind, the history of which plainly 
indicates the workings of an All-wise Providence. 



54 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

At this period there were no printed books, and the only 
means of religious instruction to which the masses had access, 
were the pictures and images to be found in the churches, 
together with the explanations of them given by the priests. 
By means of these practical object-lessons much useful infor- 
mation was imparted. The principal events in the life of our 
Savior were thus depicted, and, though the people did not 
fully understand the grandeur of His mission, they at least 
learned something of His history, their duties to each other 
and their own future destiny. 

Thus there came to be associated in their minds a reverence 
for the picture or image itself, and this idea extended until it 
included the localities where the great events of the Savior's 
life, death and resurrection transpired. 

With the growth of devotion to the person of Christ, grew 
the feeling of reverence for every place which He had visited 
and every memorial which He had left behind Him. The 
impulse once given, soon became irresistible. Every incident 
of the gospel narratives was associated with some particular 
spot, and millions believed that the sight of these places brought 
them nearer to heaven. The cave or excavation in which it 
was said the Redeemer was born, and where the wise men of 
the East laid before Him their royal gifts of gold, frankincense 
and myrrh, the mount from which He uttered His blessings 
on the meek, the merciful and the pure in heart, in short, 
every spot connected with his life, death and resurrection 
called forth emotions of passionate veneration. These feelings 
were greatly intensified by the alleged discovery of the cross on 
which the Savior died, together with the two crosses on which 
the thieves were crucified. 

The splendid churches raised by the Emperor Constantine 
and his mother Helena over the supposed spot of our Savior's 
birth at Bethlehen, and His sepulchre at Jerusalem, became 
for the Christian of that day what the tomb of the prophet at 
Medina became afterwards to the followers of Mahomet. 

The remission of sins and eternal rewards in the world to 
come were the blessings promised to the weary pilgrim when 
he should tread the classic soil of Judea, bathe in the river 
Jordan, chant his quiet anthem of praise in the cave at Bethle- 



MANUFACTURE OF RELICS. 55 

hem, walk in the quiet shades of Gethsemane and kneel in 
reverence at the Savior's tomb. 

No wonder then that a hundred thousand pilgrims might 
have been seen each year wending their way across the plains 
of Asia Minor, destined for Jerusalem. 

The Roman pontiffs, owing to the ignorance of the times, 
had already built up a wide-spread system of superstition. 




CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

They held almost imperial sway over the countless hordes of 
central and northern Europe. Even kings and emperors 
paid tribute, and sovereigns dared not disobey their com- 
mands. As an instance, might be mentioned Henry IV. , of 
Germany, who having displeased Pope Gregory VII., was 
obliged, under penalty of losing his kingdom, to stand as a 
penitent at the pope's castle gate during three dreary winter 



56 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

days, seeking pardon and reconciliation of the inexorable 
pontiff. 

It is not surprising that the popes, who had long trafficked 
in human credulity, saw, in the growth of relic-worship, an 
opportunity to increase their own power and the revenues of 
the church of Rome. Accordingly an understanding was 
made with the monks of Palestine and relics were manu- 
factured in untold numbers. 

An amusing and instructive chapter might be written on 
this subject: amusing because of its absurdity, and instructive 
as it shows to what extremes of folly men will go when left 
without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

The crimes and corruptions of the papacy had destroyed pub- 
lic confidence. The devout instinctively turned with reverence 
towards every object that recalled the memories of the pure 
and good who once lived upon the earth. 

No sooner had the wild rage for relics fairly set in than each 
monastery in the vicinity of Jerusalem made a specialty of 
some particular relic. The monks at Bethlehem sold thousands 
of pounds of half rotten rags, each fragment purporting 
to be a portion of the swaddling cloths of the infant 
Savior. The monks who guarded the supposed sepulchre of 
Christ, sold hundreds of thousands of little chips of stone 
said to have been broken off from the very walls of the tomb 
where the body of Jesus had lain. It does not seem to have 
shaken the credulity of the pilgrims in the least, that the 
tomb still remained in as good repair as ever, and showed no 
marks of demolition. 

The monks who inhabited the monasteries on the banks of 
the Jordan could point to at least twenty places where it was 
said the Savior had been baptized, and each monastery 
possessed numerous pebbles which the monks claimed had 
been touched by His feet. Xo less than seven monasteries 
claimed to have the true cross in their possession, and thou- 
sands of pieces, of wood amounting to many tons in weight, 
were sold to devout pilgrims. Each of these pieces, it was 
claimed, was a part of the true cross. 

But it would require a long and tedious list to even enumer- 
ate the various articles comprised in this relic-worship. In 



EXTENT OF RELIC-WORSHIP. D < 

order to get some faint idea of their extent and variety, the 
relics which the Abbot Martin obtained for his monastery in 
Alsace might be mentioned. These, among other things, 
included u a piece of the true cross, a fragment of the infant 
Savior's swaddling cloths, some pebbles from the river Jor- 
dan which the Savior's feet had touched, a branch of the tree 
under which He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, a 
piece of the Savior's robe, for which the Roman soldiers cast 
lots," (see Matthew, 27th chapter), "a tooth of St, Mark, 
seven hairs of the martyr, Stephen, a thigh bone of the 
animal which Jesus rode into Jerusalem," (see Luke, 19th 
chapter), and (I hesitate to write such blasphemy) u a bottle 
of the milk of the mother of God." 

In connection with this relic-worship, an amusing anecdote 
is related: It so happened that about thirty pilgrims were 
traveling homeward from Palestine together. Being some- 
what weary, they concluded to rest and refresh themselves. 
Having partaken of some wine too freely they commenced to 
boast of the various relics which each had in his possession. 
One claimed that he had actually the identical piece of money 
which Peter took out of the fish's mouth (see Matthew, 17th 
chapter, 27th verse). But, to their mutual surprise, they soon 
found that each had made a similar purchase. It was plain 
that at least twenty-nine of them had been defrauded. But 
they reasoned that if it was not wrong for the monks to 
defraud them, it would not be wrong for them to defraud 
others. So they quietly sold the pieces of money as soon as 
possible. 

No doubt one reason why relic-worship became so exten- 
sive, was the encouragement given to it by the Roman pon- 
tiffs. It was boldly asserted that the possession of a relic 
was a specific against evil spirits, accidents, disease, and, in 
short, nearly every evil to which humanity is heir, Hence the 
great demand for relics by the ignorant and superstitious, and 
the vast sums of money which were thus poured into the 
treasury of the church of Borne. 

For example, a tooth of an apostle was valued at a sum 
equal commercially to one hundred dollars of our money, and 
a thousand dollars would scarcely buy a piece of the true cross 



58 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

as large as a common friction match. Of course these prices 
varied according to the wealth and the credulity of the pur- 
chaser. 

When, in A. D. 637, Jerusalem was captured by the Sara- 
cens, the Christians and pilgrims were treated with much con- 
sideration. They were not only to be safe in their persons, 
but undisturbed in the exercise of their religion and in the use 
of their churches. 

The yearly influx of at least one hundred thousand pilgrims, 
however, aroused suspicion among the great mass of Mahom- 
etans, who failed to comprehend the purport of their extra- 
ordinary journey, but perceived the necessity of putting some 
restraint on this annual rush of such countless multitudes. 
The consequence was that wrongs were inflicted and retaliated 
until the mere journey to Jerusalem involved dangers from 
which even the bravest might shrink. Insults offered to the 
pilgrims were accompanied by insults offered to the holy places 
and to those who ministered in them. 

Still the pilgrims went forth by thousands, and occasionally 
hundreds and frequently only tens returned to recount the 
miseries and wanton cruelties they had undergone. 

Throughout the length and breadth of Christendom a 
fierce indignation was stirring the hearts of men, and their rage, 
like pent up waters, needed only an opportunity to rush forth 
as a flood over the lands under the control of the Mahom- 
etans. That opportunity was not long wanting. Peter, the 
hermit, who had witnessed the barbarities to which the 
pilgrims were exposed, roused Europe to a frantic state by his 
preaching. 

Dwarfish in stature and mean in person, he was yet filled 
with a zeal that knew no bounds. The horrors which fired 
his soul were those which would most surely stir the conscience 
and arouse the wrath of his hearers. His fiery appeals carried 
everything before him. Wherever he went, the rich and the 
poor, the aged and the young, the nobles and the peasants 
thronged in thousands around the emaciated stranger. He 
traveled with his head and feet bare, calling on all classes to 
deliver from the unbeliever the land which was the cradle of 
their faith. 



CRUSADES. 59 

The vehemence which choked his own utterance became 
contagious. His sobs and groans called forth the tears and 
cries of the vast crowds who hung upon his words and greedily 
devoured the harrowing accounts of the pilgrims, whom Peter 
brought forward as witnesses of the truth of his picture. The 
excitement and frenzy of the moment threw, no doubt, a 
specious coloring over an enterprise of doubtful morality, 
and which eventually pandered to the basest passion of 
humanity. 

These wars are known in history by the name of Crusades, 
from the Latin term crux, a cross, which emblem was painted 
on the breasts or shoulders of all who engaged in them. 

When the masses were thoroughly excited, Pope Urban 
gave the enterprise his sanction, and promised to all who 
would enlist a full remission of their sins. This encouraged 
innumerable desperadoes to assume the badge of the cross. 
Fanaticism and hypocrisy, lust and avarice strangely urged 
their several votaries to pursue one path, and all under the 
sacred and now woefully profaned name of Christian zeal ! 

Yet the hand of Providence was in all this. Even the rage 
of men worked out His purpose, and, as the sequel will show, 
produced results which, under the controlling hand of God^ 
led to the elevation of the race. 

To give a detailed description of the Crusades would alone 
require a volume. It is enough to say that the first Crusade 
failed, not only disastrously, but hideously, so far as the 
ignorant rabbles under Peter, the hermit, and Walter, the 
penniless, were concerned. The long and ghastly line of 
bones whitening the roadside all the way from Hungary to 
Judea, showed how different a thing it was for a peaceable 
and solitary pilgrim with his staff and wallet and scallop- 
shell to beg his way, and the disorderly rabble of thousands 
upon thousands to rush forward without any organization, 
and gathering their daily supplies by robbing and killing 
the helpless peasants on their route. This, in their ignorance 
or blasphemy, they called "trusting in the providence of 
God." 

The van of the Crusades consisted of two hundred and 
seventy-five thousand men. Behind these came a rabble of 



(0 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

two hundred thousand men, women and children, preceded 
by a goat and a goose, into which some blasphemous lunatic 
had told them that the Holy Ghost had entered. When at 
length these animals died, a representation of them was painted 
on their banner. 

In this vile horde no pretense was kept up of order or of 
decency. Driven to madness by disappointment and famine, 
and expecting, in their ignorance, that every town they came 
to must be Jerusalem, they laid hands on whatever they could 
in their extremity. Their track was marked by robbery, fire 
and bloodshed. In the first Crusade alone, more than five 
hundred thousand human beings perished. However, a 
better organized expedition soon followed, commanded by 
Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine. By him Jerusalem 
was captured July 15th, A. D. 1099. As might be expected, 
its siege and capture were attended by the perpetration of 
cruelties almost surpassing belief. 

What a contrast to the conduct of the Arabs, when the 
Caliph Omar took Jerusalem, A. D. 637 ! He rode into the city 
by the side of the patriarch, Saphronius, conversing with him 
on its antiquities. When the time of evening prayer arrived, 
he declined to pay his devotions in the church of Constantine, 
fearing that his followers might wish to imitate his example, 
and thus render it practically useless to the Christians ; but he 
knelt outside in the yard near the entrance gate. What a supreme 
act of religious toleration ! When will free-born Americans 
learn to act thus nobly ? 

But in the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders the 
brains of young children were dashed out against the walls, 
infants were thrown over the battlements, men and women 
were tortured that they might be compelled to disclose hidden 
wealth, the Jews were driven into their synagogue and there 
burnt. A massacre of seventy thousand persons took place, and 
the pope's especial ambassador was seen ''partaking in the 
triumph. ' ' 

Such were the exploits of the first Crusade. The second 
was barren of results except the inhuman butchery of thou- 
sands of unoffending Jews. The third produced no permanent 
effects, but a halo of false glory is shed around it, from the 



CRUSADES OF THE CHILDREN. 61 

exploits of Richard the Lion-heart, king of England, who 
was connected with it, and whose adventures have stirred to 
enthusiasm even the dullest of historians. With great diffi- 
culty, Pope Innocent III. , succeeded in preparing the fourth 
Crusade, A. D. 1202. The government of Venice agreed to 
furnish ships to carry them to Palestine, but, actuated by a 
love of plunder, and a desire to gratify the bitter feeling which 
existed between the popes of Rome and the bishops of Con- 
stantinople, they turned aside to vent their rage on their fellow- 
Christians. Constantinople was taken by storm A. D. 1 204. 
On the night of its capture more houses were burned than 
could be found in any three of the largest cities of France. 
The treasures of the churches were carried away, and even 
the tombs of the ancient emperors were rifled in the mad search 
for relics. 

Thus, Crusade followed Crusade for more than one hundred 
and fifty years, until nine armies, comprising more than three 
millions of men, laid their bodies down to decay and their 
bones to whiten on the plains and hill-sides of the East. 

Among all the enterpises, none were more wild and wicked 
than those which are called the ''Crusades of the children." 
Emissaries from Rome went throughout Western Europe, 
preaching and declaring that God would only give the Holy 
Land into the hands of innocent children. Pope Innocent 
III. applauded their wild enthusiasm. "These children," 
said he, ' 'are a reproach to us of riper a^e. While they hurry 
to Palestine, we are asleep. 

A few words will suffice to tell the story how twenty thou- 
sand children, under the boy Stephen, encamped around Yen- 
dome. In less than a month ten thousand of them had 
perished or strayed [away. When they reached Marseilles, 
they lingered near the shore, expecting the Mediterranean to 
divide, and, like the Red Sea in ancient times, give them a dry 
passage to Palestine. At length two merchants offered to 
convey them there in ships, without charge ; but at the end of 
their journey they found themselves, not in Palestine, but in 
the slave markets of Alexandria and Algiers. 

A sequel to this "o'er true tale" is found in the sufferings of 
another rabble of thirty thousand boys and girls, who, under 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 




GO 
W 

CO 

y: 

W 






"■'•Ifil'jil'.'if.'lilili'i 



REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 63 

the peasant lad, Nicholas, in crossing the Alps lost nearly half 
their number. Five thousand reached Genoa, and, being 
invited by the senate, concluded to settle there. The rest 
marched to Brindisi. and, setting sail for Palestine, were never 
heard of more. 

Worthless in themselves and wholly useless as a means for 
founding any permanent dominion in Palestine or elsewhere, 
these enterprises were a means in the overruling hand of God 
of effecting the nations of Europe in a way which the pro- 
moters never dreamed of. 

Their results were many and various. One was that they 
drew away many of the warlike and turbulent, and gave, as it 
were, a resting time for the states of Western Europe, during 
which, learning, science and general culture, among the quietly- 
disposed, made rapid advances, and many cities and smaller 
states rose from obscurity to opulence and power. 

Another was the change of feeling which took place in the 
Crusaders themselves. What a surprise awaited these religious 
barbarians — for such they really were — when for the first time 
they gazed on the splendors of Constantinople in its palmiest 
days! What a contrast to their own rude homes, when they 
passed into x\sia Minor, that garden of the world, presenting 
well-cultivated fields, orchards, vineyards, palaces and schools, 
the civilization of a thousand years ! How unexpected the 
character of those Saracens, whom they had been taught to 
regard as no better than bloodthirsty fiends, but whom they 
found to be valiant, merciful and just ! 

When Richard the Lion-heart, king of England, lay in 
his tent consumed by a fever, there came into the camp camels 
laden with snow, from Mount Lebanon, to assuage his disease. 
It was a present from his enemy, the great Mahometan Saladin 
— the homage of one brave soldier to another. But when 
Bichard was returning to England it was by a Christian prince, 
who should have aided him. that he was treacherously seized 
and secretly confined. 

This was doubtless only one of many such incidents. Every 
Crusader must have recognized the difference between what 
they had anticipated and what they had found. They had seen 
undaunted courage, chivalrous bearing, intellectual culture and 



64 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

religious toleration far greater than their own. When the 
Crusaders returned to their native lands, they carried with them 
the memory of their experiences, and a relish for more polished 
manners and a higher civilization than that to which they had 
been accustomed at home. Hence, immediately after the 
Crusades the arts and sciences began to be sedulously cultivated 
in Europe. They had departed with the intent of conquering, 
aye even exterminating their enemies; but by contact with 
those enemies they had learned in some things "a more excel- 
lent way. ' ' The words of the Koran inscribed on the banner 
of Saladin are true: "There is no conqueror but God!" 
Equally true the words written by the Prophet Esdras, as he 
sat by the side of the willow-fringed river of Babylon more 
than twenty- three hundred years ago: "As for truth, it 
endureth and is always strong ; it liveth and conquereth for 
evermore," (see Apocrypha, I. Esdras, iv., 38). 



CHAPTER VII 



THE DAWN OF MODERN INTELLIGENCE. 



THE MORNING DAWNS — RISE OF KNIGHTHOOD — PRINCIPLES 
OF KNIGHTS — APOSTATE PRIESTS HELD IN CONTEMPT — 
WALDENSES — PERSECUTIONS IN SOUTHERN FRANCE — 
RISE OF THE INQUISITION— LIBERAL POLICY OF FREDERICK 
— "EVERLASTING GOSPEL" — ITS REMARKABLE TEACH- 
INGS — BACON'S DISCOVERIES — GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWL- 
EDGE—AZORES AND CANARY ISLANDS— TRAVELS OF 
MARCO POLO — CONDITION OF EUROPEAN STATES — 
MODERN STATES. 

THOSE who have waited for the dawning of the morning 
in the latter part of a clear summer night, can understand 
the delight experienced at the first tokens of approaching day. 
At first the rays of light are very faint and only perceptible to 
a keen and experienced eye. As time wears on the timid 
approach of twilight becomes more perceptible. The intense 
blue of the sky begins to soften. The rays that first darted up 



RISE OF KNIGHTHOOD. 65 

in the far north-east, though occasionally intercepted by moun- 
tains or banks of clouds, gradually swing around to the east. 
The darkness of the night dissolves into the glories of the 
dawn. The great watch- stars fade away, one by one. The 
whole firmament is filled with the inflowing tides of morning 
light. At length a stream of golden sunlight flashes out 
from above the hills and turns the dewy tear-drops of flower 
and leaf into rubies and diamonds. Thus the king of day 
begins his course arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of 
man. 

In like manner we may in imagination gaze at the dawning 
of "the dispensation of the fullness of times," and watch the 
increasing rays of moral, intellectual and spiritual light, feeble 
indeed at first, yet constantly growing stronger, though some- 
times intercepted by mountains of bigotry and mists of error, 
until at length the gospel's glorious sunshine again lights a 
benighted world, and the divine authority and Priesthood are 
restored to the children of men. But let us not anticipate. 
Let us rather patiently decipher on history's scroll the charac- 
ters written there by the finger of God. Let us carefully watch 
the development of His purposes amid the strife and commo- 
tion of those perilous times. 

With the close of the Crusades the midnight darkness of 
human history ended. Human misery had reached its climax. 
Superstition and ignorance had done their most terrible work. 
Thousands, aye even millions had had an opportunity of com- 
paring the teachings and pretenses of Rome with other civil- 
izations. It is almost needless to say that Catholicism had 
seriously suffered by the comparison. Rome was weighed in 
the balance and found wanting. 

Those of the Crusaders who remained in Palestine were soon 
blended with the Mahometan population, and in a few years 
scarce a vestige of them remained. Many of the leaders who 
returned were, like Richard the Lion-Hearted, full of praise 
of the treatment they had received from their enemies, and 
spent much of their time in founding various orders of chivalry 
and knighthood. At first those orders received the benediction 
of the popes. Some of them were even organized before they 
returned from the Holy Land. Of such were the famous 



66 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

knights of St: John and Knights Hospitaller. But it was soon 
found that those brave men loved liberty more than priestcraft, 
so after a time, notwithstanding their eminent services, they 
were weakened and divided by stratagem, charges were pre- 
ferred against them and they were cruelly put to death. The 
story of their fate will ever, remain one of the darkest pages in 
the annals of our race. But their death only accellerated the 
progress of their ideas. The spirit and institutions of chivalry 
spread rapidly. 

Treachery and hypocrisy were held by them in detestation. 
"To speak the truth, to succor the helpless and never turn back 
from an enemy," was the first vow of the youth who sought 
the honors of chivalry. 

In an age of darkness and degradation, chivalry developed the 
character of woman. It caused her virtues to be appreciated 
and honored, made her the equal and companion of man, and 
the object of his love and devotion. The love of God and the 
protection of women were enjoined as a single duty (see 
Halem's Middle Ages, page 512). He who was faithful to his 
vow and true to his wife was sure of salvation in the opinion of 
the knights, though he failed to perform the penance prescribed 
by the Bomish clergy. 

Chivalry was the religion of the heart, in a rude and untu- 
tored age. It had the effect of infusing more of humanity 
and generous principle into the operations of war than the 
ancient nations had any conception of. Hence we seldom or 
never hear in modern times of such scenes of unmingled 
atrocity, such deadly treachery, such extensive and cold-blooded 
massacres as we so frequently read of in ancient pagan or papal 
history. 

At the close of the Crusades a great change commenced in 
society. The minstrels, who with harps had gone about sing- 
ing ballads, commemorating deeds of heroism and adventure, 
now changed their theme and sang songs of a very different 
character. Amid shouts of laughter they went through the 
land, wagging their heads, and slyly winking their eyes, and 
singing derisive songs about the amours of the priests, who in 
turn were not slow to denounce the minstrels as lewd blas- 
phemers and atheists. 



THE WALDENSES. 67 

While the young were singing, the old were thinking ; while 
the gay were carried away with romance and chivalry, the grave 
and reflecting were falling into heresy. 

About A. D. 1100, Peter Waldo, a wealthy citizen of Lyons, 
became conviced of the corruptions of Rome. He, probably 
aided by others, translated the scriptures into Provencal French. 
Thus, to him the world is indebted for the first translation of 
the Bible into a modern tongue. Waldo could not long remain 
in Lyons. He fled into Germany and afterwards settled in 
Bohemia, where he died about A. D. 1179. He was the instru- 
ment of spreading those liberal ideas in Bohemia, of which 
John Huss and Jerome of Prague became in after times worthy 
representatives. At the time of his death it is said that Waldo 
had five hundred thousand followers. 

Already, A. D. 1134, Peter de Brueys had been burned at 
Languedoc for denying infant baptism. Already the valleys 
of Piedmont were full of Waldenses, who denounced the 
greed of the popes and the intermingling of bishops in blood- 
shed and war. At this juncture Innocent III. , ascended the 
pontifical throne. Here was a state of things which, as he 
considered, demanded immediate attention. The methods to 
which he resorted for the suppression and extinction of 
heretics, as misbelievers were called, have made his name for- 
ever infamous. 

Innocent well knew that the greed and the corruptions of 
the clergy had made them unpopular with the people. He 
therefore established the mendicant orders of priests, more 
commonly known under the names of Franciscans and 
Dominicans. Vowed to poverty and living on alms, they 
lived and moved among the masses, and yet were held sacred. 
The accusations and dissipation of luxury so forcibly urged 
against the regular clergy, were altogether inapplicable to these 
half- starved wandering fanatics. Once more for a time the 
popes had gained possession of the ear of the masses. 

At this time Southern France was the garden of reform. 
Here the eloquence of Abelard, the patriotism of Arnold and 
the statesmanship of Frederick wielded a mighty influence. 
Like seeds falling into good ground, they brought forth much 
fruit. Already Arnold had been burned at the stake and his 



68 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

ashes thrown on the waves of the Tiber. He has thus become 
the heritage, as it were, of every nation whose shores are 
washed by the tides of the sea. Seven centuries have rolled 
by since then, yet the memory of Arnold of Brescia is 
ever green; the principles for which he lived and died are 
now incorporated in every constitutional government on the 
globe. 

In no land were his principles more prevalent than in 
Southern France, and on it Innocent determined to vent his 
rage. In looking around for a suitable pretext that would rouse 
the masses and excite them to religious frenzy, he soon dis- 
covered the object for which he sought. It was Raymond, earl 
of Toulouse, who had so far turned Mahometan that he 
had no less than three wives in emulation of his Saracen 
neighbors beyond the Pyrenees. An investigation of the 
domestic life of Raymond, would have shown it to have been 
far more honorable than that of the popes, themselves. Ray- 
mond was therefore arrested on the charge of heresy, of 
harboring heretics and placing offices of trust in the hands of 
worthy Jews. His subjects were indignant, for Raymond, it 
would seem, was a wise and good ruler and much loved by his 
people. 

In the disputes that ensued the pope's embassador was 
accidentally killed. Innocent considered this a sufficient reason 
ior sending into the earl's dominion an army of nearly five 
hundred thousand men. There was no alternative for the earl 
but to submit. He surrendered up his strong places, and even 
acknowledged the justice of his punishment. He was publicly 
stripped naked to the waist, and, with a rope around his neck, 
led to the altar of the cathedral and there scourged. 

But the humiliation and scourging of the earl was not 
sufficient to satisfiy the soldiery. They had come for blood and 
plunder, and blood and plunder they must have. Then fol- 
lowed such a scene of horror as tongue or pen cannot describe. 
The army was officered by Roman and French prelates. 
Bishops were its generals and an archdeacon its engineer. 
The pope's ambassador was the commander-in-chief, who, 
when asked by a subordinate officer at the battle of Beziers, 
how the Catholics might be distinguished from the misbe- 



TERRIBLE MASSACRE. 



69 



lievers and saved, jreplied : "Kill them all, God will know 
His own in the resurrection." In the church of St. Mary 
Magdalene, seven thousand persons were massacred. In the 




city twenty thousand more were slaughtered. The place was 
then fired and left as a monument of priestly vengeance. 



70 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

At the massacre of Levaur four hundred persons were piled 
together and burned. The embassador, in making up his 
dispatches to the pope, said that "they made a wonderful blaze, 
and then went to burn everlastingly in hell. ' ' 

It was hoped that these horrors would so terrify men that 
they would never again dare to use the God-given power of 
reason. The soil had been steeped with the blood of men 
and the air polluted by their burnings ; yet all this did not 
stifle the truth, nor prevent its growth. Hoping still to effect 
this, that infernal institution, the Inquisition, was established. 
Its projectors intended it not only to put an end to public 
teaching, but also to private thought. When once the 
Inqusition seized its victim, no person, not even the nearest 
relative, could converse with him, write to him or intercede 
for him. He was lost to public view until the hour for his 
torture or execution had arrived. In Spain alone more than 
three hundred and forty thousand passed through its terrible 
ordeal. But this fearful tribunal did not fail to draw upon 
itself the indignation of men. Such outrages against human- 
ity cannot be perpetrated without bringing retribution in the 
end. 

The great forces which were then at work in society, were 
well illustrated in the characters of the two leading actors. 
On one side stands Innocent III., his hands red with the blood 
of his fellow-men, and hesitating at no atrocity in order to 
accomplish his purposes. 

On the other, was Frederick II., emperor of Germany and 
Italy. Frederick's early life had been spent in familiar inter- 
course with Jews and Arabs. In a Saracen university he had 
received his education ; and to his many other accomplish- 
ments, he added the speaking of the Arabic as fluently as a 
Saracen. Jewish and Saracen philosophers had taught him to 
sneer at the pretensions of the church of Rome: as might be 
expected he soon came in conflict with her authority. 

Between Innocent and Frederick was perpetual enmity; 
but for a time the conflict was deferred. During this interval 
the greatness of Frederick was manifested in the internal 
improvements of his kingdom. He instituted a represententa- 
tive assembly or parliament, which by his sanction framed a 



LIBERAL POLICY OF FREDERICK. 71 

code of wise and useful laws. This code asserted the princi- 
ple of equal rights to all, the peasants, the nobles and the 
church, and an equal proportion of taxation. It also pro- 
vided for the toleration of all religions, Catholic, Jewish and 
Mahometan. Frederick emancipated all the serfs and slaves 
of his dominions, established cheap courts of justice for the 
poor, and regulated trade and commerce. He even laid down 
some of those commercial and political maxims recently dis- 
cussed by Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill, and only in our 
own times finally received as true. He also established fairs 
and markets, for the exchange of products, and offered prizes 
for mechanical improvements and the best breeds of domestic 
animals. In Naples he founded a great university with liberal 
provision for worthy but indigent youths. Under him 
sculpture, painting, poetry and music were liberally patron- 
ized, and the Italian tongue first rose to the dignity of a lan- 
guage. 

All this was an abomination in the sight of Rome. Gregory 
IX., succeeded to the pontifical chair in A. D. 1228. Fred- 
erick and his parliaments, his laws and universities, his 
libraries and his toleration were all denounced, and Frederick 
himself was delivered over to Satan for the good of his soul. 
For thirty years Frederick combated the power of the church, 
but he sank in the conflict at last. But the fate of men is by 
no means an indication of the fate of principles. 

"Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers." 

Though denounced then, Frederick is now considered one of 
the benefactors of his race. 

Meanwhile an ominous cloud was gathering in the horizon 
of Rome. The Franciscans, weary of poverty, began to 
denounce the luxury and corruptions of the regular clergy. 
At this juncture a strange book make its appearance, which, 
under the title of "The Everlasting Gospel," struck terror to 
the hearts of the papal authorities. 

It was affirmed that an angel brought it from heaven and 
gave it to the priest called Cyril, who it was said delivered it to 
the Abbot Joachim, by whom the book was published, Cyril 



72 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

had been dead about fifty years when the work first made its 
appearance. According to the admissions of Catholic his- 
torians, "The work displayed an enlarged and masterly con- 
ception of the historical progress of humanity. ' ' It claimed 
that ^Romanism had done its work and must now make way 
for a new order of ideas. It proceeded to show that there 
are epochs, or ages in the divine government of the world. 
During the Jewish dispensation, it had been under the 
immediate influence of God the Father. For the next twelve 
hundred years, it had been under the control of God the Son, 
but the time has now arrived when the world would be under 
the special control of the Holy Spirit, That man need no 
longer treasure up the relics of antiquity, search after the 
sayings of the early fathers or even solely and implicitly rely 
on the letter of the ancient scriptures, for the Holy Spirit 
would manifest itself in visions, dreams and revelations to the 
children of men. 

One of the grand principles which it taught was, "the 
divine right of private judgment." It asserted that genius 
should not be considered an individual possession, but rather 
"the gift of God — the visible manifestion of the secret work- 
ings of the Holy Spirit for the elevation of the race. ' ' In 
short, it taught that ' 'every invention and discovery was only, 
in some degree, a revelation of God to man," an unfolding 
of the secret laws of nature to man's finite understanding. It 
considered, "those heroes as inspired, who, springing from 
society at appointed epochs, displayed a mental or moral power 
beyond the ordinar} 7 limits of humanity, and around whom, as 
around a superior and mysterious power, nations and indi- 
viduals unhesitatingly gather." 

It recognized the hand of God in those grand revolutions, 
those great men, those mighty nations, which, arising from 
obscurity, communicate a fresh impulse, new vigor and 
advanced ideas to the human race. It was without doubt the 
most powerful written work which had appeared since the 
days of the apostles. No wonder the pope, Alexander IV. , 
took immediate measures for its destruction. So far from 
being suppressed, its copies were multiplied rapidly, though 
printing was as yet unknown. 



TEACHINGS OF THE * EVERLASTING GOSPEL. <3 

On the far off plains of Bohemia, among the rugged 
mountains of the Tyrol, by Alpine torrents and in the valleys 
of Piedmont, as well as on the distant shores of England 
and Scotland, its words were carefully read and pondered. In 
size it was nearly equal to the New Testament, and by many 
of the humble classes it was reveared as its equal in authority. 
Many of its truths were conveyed in the form of fable or par- 
able. Historians generally write in the interest of some sect or 
party, and finding in it little to flatter the pride or vanity of 
man, have frequently passed it by in silence or have given it 
merely a passing notice, but it was evidently an instrument in 
the hands of God for awakening human intellect. 

Meanwhile the boundaries of human knowledge were greatly 
enlarged. Chemistry and medicine had taken their places as 
established sciences. Roger Bacon, who was born A. I). 1214, 
had already astonished the learned by his experiments and dis- 
coveries in optics, mathematics and chemistry. At the present 
time it is almost impossible to comprehend the difficulties and 
perils which then attended every step in experimental science. 
For example, in making some experiments on the properties 
of antimony, or stibium, as it was then called, it was found 
that when given to the swine in their food it increased their 
fatness with surprising rapidity. But when it was adminis- 
tered to some half-starved monks the poor fellows were every 
one killed. Hence the modern name of antimony, from anti, 
against, and moine, a monk. It may also be added that 
antimony, whether used as a medicine or in the composition of 
printer's type for the dissemination of truth is equally 
unhealthy for sectarian bigots of every description. 

Geographical knowledge had also been greatly extended. 
Adventurous merchants had sailed along both the eastern and 
western shores of Africa far south of the equator, for they 
discovered stars and constellations invisible in northern lati- 
tudes. The Azores and Canary Islands had been rediscovered 
after a lapse of more than a thousand years. Portuguese 
sailors had already made voyages to far off Iceland, the 
"Ullima Thule" of the ancients. With the exception of 
north-eastern Asia and southern Africa, the entire boundaries 
of the eastern continent were known. Marco Polo, in the 
3* 



74 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

interests of Venetian commerce, had explored the vast regions 
of central Asia, and Moorish merchants of Tripoli, by means 
of caravans, had trafficked with the tribes of central Africa, 

The states of Europe had commenced to assume their 
modern forms ; Portugal had become independent of Spain 
about A. D. 1139; Switzerland, under Rudolph of Hapsburg, 
became a distinct nationality in A. D. 1151 ; Ireland was sub- 
jugated by Henry II. , of England, in A. D. 1172, and British 
constitutional government commenced by wresting the Magna 
Charta from King John, in A. D. 1215. 

In fine arts we find that Cimabue, who was born in A. D. 
1140, and his pupil Giotto, who was born in A. D. 1276, 
established the Italian school of modern painting. 

The foregoing will indicate to some extent the condition of 
society at the latter end of the thirteenth century. The dark- 
ness of night had commenced to vanish. The morning star of 
intelligence had arisen, heralding the coming of a peaceful 
day — 

"A day not cloudless or devoid of storm, 
But sunny for the most and clear and warm." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE MORNING OF MODERN TIMES. 

LESSON FROM HEATHEN MYTHOLOGY — VICISSITUDES OF 
ROMAN CHURCH— BONIFACE POPE— ADVANCEMENT IN 
CIVILIZATION — WORK OF THE ROMAN CHURCH — INVEN- 
TION OF PRINTING — GUTENBERG — BIBLE FIRST PRINTED 
— COLUMBUS — HIS WONDERFUL DREAM— HIS GREAT VOY- 
AGE—DISCOVERY OF AMERICA — TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 

"It breaks — it comes — the misty shadows fly: 

A rosy radiance gleams upon the sky ; 

The mountain tops reflect it calm and clear, 

The plain is yet in shade, but day is near."— Chas. Mackay. 

THE fifteenth century may be justly considered the com- 
mencement of modern times ; for then began the great 



LESSON FROM HEATHEN MYTHOLOGY. 75 

revolution in science, religion and general knowledge, which 
has continued until the present time. The time-worn colossus 
of Rome was tottering under its own weight. Great princes 
filled the thrones of all the principal countries of Europe. 
The minds of men seemed awakening as from a sleep. A 
spirit of scientific research had seized the learned, and a 
desire for knowledge found its way even to the homes of the 
lowly. 

In every grade of society a new life was in motion. "What 
an age ! ' ' exclaimed Huetton, the religious knight of Germany, 
"studies flourish, minds are awakening; it is a joy merely to 
be alive!" 

The history of those times cannot be correctly told by a 
simple recital of facts. This truth should ever be acknowledged, 
that God is ever present on that vast theatre where successive 
generations of men meet and struggle. It is true He is 
unseen ; and the unthinking multitude may pass heedlessly by. 
To the ignorant crowd, the history of the world presents a 
confused chaos; but to men of thought, it appears as a 
majestic temple on which the invisible hand of God is at work. 

Modern minds might learn a lesson from heathen mythology. 
The name given by the ancient Greeks to the Deity shows 
that they had received some primeval revelation of this great 
truth. He was styled Zeus, or the life-giver to all that lives — 
to nations as well as individuals. From his inspirations Minos 
and other legislators professed to have received their laws ; and 
on his altars kings and people swore their solemn oaths. This 
great truth is taught by one of the most beautiful fables of 
heathen mythology. 

Thus Zeus, the life-giving principle is the father of Clio, 
the muse of history, whose mother is Mnemosyne, or memory. 
History then is the memory of men's acts and God's provi- 
dences, and combines a heavenly with an earthly nature. She 
is the daughter of God and man; but, alas, the purblind 
philosophy of the ninteenth century has not attained to the 
lofty views of heathen wisdom ! 

What a startling fact, that men brought up amid the 
glorious light of the present age should deny that divine 



<6 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

intervention in human affairs which even the very heathens 
admitted ! 

The beginning of the fifteenth century finds Boniface IX. , 
on the pontifical throne. During his reign the papal power 
culminated and began to decline. 

No empire of ancient or modern times has experienced 
such marvelous and varied vicissitudes, as those which have 
befallen the empire of the Roman church. Born in obscurity 
and reared in adversity, that church nevertheless succeeded 
in climbing to a loftier throne and grasping the scepter of a 
more absolute dominion than either a Xerxes or an Alexander 
could boast. Pretending to despise mere worldly gains, she 
cunningly turned the channels of riches towards herself, and 
emptied them without scruple into her own coffers. 

When Boniface ascended the papal throne, the authority of 
Rome was apparently greater than ever ; but in reality it was 
much undermined by the advancing labors of civilization. 

Society had made a great advance in the previous eight 
hundred years. In the seventh century, a cloud of more than 
Egyptian darkness overshadowed Europe. Then it was occu- 
pied by wandering savages ; now it was organized into families, 
neighborhoods and cities. The seventh century left it full of 
bondmen ; the fifteenth found it without a slave. Where there 
had been trackless forests there were now the abodes of 
civilized men. Instead of bloody chieftains drinking out of 
their enemies' skulls, there were grave professors teaching the 
laws of nature and the principles of science. 

Nor was this all. Rome herself had a preparatory work to 
do, and had she confined herself to that work, and sought not 
to trammel the minds of men, she would have continued a 
blessing to the race. Never before in the history of the world 
was there such a system. From her central seat she could 
equally take in a hemisphere at a glance or examine the 
private life of any individual. In all Europe there was not a 
man too great or too obscure, too insignificant or too desolate 
for her. Surrounded by her solemnities every one received 
his name at her altar ; her bells chimed at his marriage ; and 
her knell tolled at his funeral. When even to his friends his 
lifeless corpse had become an offense, she received it into her 



GUTENBERG, COLUMBUS AND LUTHER. 11 

consecrated ground, there to rest until the great reckoning 
day. In times of lawlessness and rapine, she sheltered the 
helpless from the tyrant, and made her sanctuaries a refuge 
for the despairing and oppressed, But like all man-made 
systems of religion, she failed by attempting to enforce fixed 
laws on society in the presence of higher truths and advancing 
civilization. 

During all these centuries mankind had slowly but surely 
advanced and Abraham's seed, the Jews and Saracens, had 
been the leaders of that progress. Quietly the materials had 
been gathering until the whole continent was ripe for revolu- 
tion. 

Meanwhile God had raised up instruments, by which the 
commerce, politics and religious thought of Europe were com- 
pletely changed. 

In A. D. 1484, there were living in various parts of Europe 
three persons who were destined to set in motion these mighty 
movements. These were Gutenberg, Columbus and Luther. 
Around these men cluster many notable events ; and a history 
of their lives and times would include some of the brightest 
pages in the annals of our race. 

Gutenberg was then an old man living at Mentz, in Ger- 
many. His broad shoulders, well knit frame and strong arms 
showed that he was acquainted with labor, and capable of great 
endurance. His broad and full forehead indicated a man of 
reflective mind and inventive faculty. His keen, full grey eye 
revealed a soul full of earnestness, intelligence and power. He 
had conferred on mankind the most useful invention, since 
Cadmus, nearly three thousand years ago, taught the bar- 
barian Greeks the art of writing. This invention was the art 
of printing, which has been such a mighty instrument for the 
transmission of thought, and the civilization of the world. 
The Saracens had already invented the arc of making paper 
from linen rags. Previous to this, parchment was the only 
substance well adapted for writing upon. Paper-making and 
printing produced great changes in the manufacture of books. 
By the one, books were greatly cheapened, by the other, greatly 
multiplied. Thought could now be transmitted cheaply and 
swiftly in a thousand different directions. Priestcraft saw the 



78 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

danger, and, terrified lest truth should emerge, immediately 
attempted to control and restrain the press. At this time the 
art of printing was known to only five or six persons. It is 
curious to observe that even war was the means of quicken- 
ing the growth and extension of this wonderful art. In 1462, 
the storming of Mentz dispersed Gutenberg and his co-workers 
and gave the secret to the world. In A. D. 1465, it appeared 
in Italy; in 1469, in France; in 1474, Caxton brought it to 
England, and in 1477 it was introduced in Spain. 

Meanwhile Pope Alexander VI. , excommunicated all printers 
not licensed by him, and an order was issued to burn all books 
not recommended by the papal authorities. But these frantic 
struggles of the powers of darkness were unavailing. Lovers 
of books were gratified by seeing them multiplied by thousands. 
The Bibe was printed as early as 1454, and was followed shortly 
afterwards by other important books. 

The power of the press continued to increase, until at the 
present time it is without doubt the most powerful aid to 
modern civilization. 

At the beginning of the fifteenth century a profound igno- 
rance prevailed concerning the western regions of the Atlantic. 
Its vast waters were regarded with awe and wonder; and 
though from time to time, pieces of carved wood and other 
relics of Indian skill had floated to the shores of the old world, 
giving to its wondering inhabitants evidences of land beyond 
the watery horizon, yet no one ventured to spread a sail and 
seek that land veiled in mystery and peril. 

Columbus was the first who had the inspiration to conceive 
and the heroic courage to brave the mysteries of this perilous 
deep. He unfolded to the wandering gaze of the inhabitants 
of Europe a new hemisphere, and opened it to their spirit of 
discovery and enterprise — opened it also, alas, to their cupi- 
dity and cruelty ! 

Christopher Columbus was born in the city Genoa, about 
1447, and became one of the most remarkable men of any land 
or time. Having carefully studied the sciences of geography 
and astronomy he became convinced that the earth was not 
flat, as most men then believed, but was really a vast globe or 
ball. He perceived that when the moon was eclipsed, the 



COLUMBUS. 



79 



shadow which the earth cast upon the moon was round ; and 
he reasoned that as the shadow was ronnd, the object that 
made that shadow must be round also. 

He visited the- great Saracen schools in Spain, and there 
received additional proof of this truth. Spain, was then a 
great maritime nation, and there he conversed with great sea- 
captains whose voyages were already attracting the attention 
of the learned. He himself also made a voyage to far off 
Iceland, and possibly to Greenland, to which country the pope 
had already sent'a bishop and several missionaries. 




CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

In A. D. 1485, when Columbus was about thirty-eight years 
of age he made his first application to the king of Portugal 
for aid in his great scheme of maritime discovery, but without 
success. He then successively applied to Spain, Genoa, Yen- 
ice and England. 

But the monarchs of Europe were under the control of Eome, 
and therefore too busy in aiding her religious persecutions to 
listen to the appeals of science. 

Indeed in the very year in which Columbus made his first 
application, the Inquisition put to death nearly seventeen 
thousand persons, besides imprisoning thirty- two thousand 



cSO THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

more. Nor was this all, ninety-two thousond Jews had suffered 
confiscation of their property, and had been given the unenvi- 
able choice of death, banishment or perpetual slavery. And 
the Saracens, who had dwelt in Spain for -more than seven 
hundred years, or nearly twice as long a time as has elapsed 
since the discovery of America, were expelled from the lands 
which they had so long cultivated and beautified, and from 
their cities which had so long led the world in the arts, sciences 
and general civilization. 

One evening in the autumn of A. D. 1485, a man of majestic 
appearance, pale, care-worn, and though in the meridian of 
life, with silver hair, leading a little boy by the hand, asked 
alms at the gate of a Franciscan convent near Polos— not for 
himself, but only a little bread and water for his child. That 
man was Columbus, destined to startle the inhabitants of 
Europe with the discovery of a new continent. But he was 
obliged to wait until he could take advantage of the commercial 
rivalry of Spain and Portugal. 

The trade of Eastern Asia had always been a source of 
immense wealth to the nations that had controlled it. For more 
than a thousand years Venice had held the keys to that com- 
merce. As discoveries extended, other nations perceived the 
possibility of opening new routes to the East and thus rivaling 
the commercial greatness of Venice. One of these plans was 
to sail around the southern end of Africa, the other to sail 
directly westward across the Atlantic. It was plain to every 
thinking person that if India could be reached by sailing west- 
ward, maritime power would pass from the Mediterranean 
countries to those upon the Atlantic coast. 

About this time Columbus had a wonderful dream, or vision. 
An unknown voice spoke to him, and said: "God will cause 
thy name to be wonderfully resounded throughout the earth ; 
and will give thee the keys to the ocean which are held with 
strong chains." From this time forward, Columbus looked 
upon himself as chosen from among men to accomplish the pur- 
poses of heaven ; to bring the ends of the earth together, that 
all nations, and peoples, and tongues might be united under 
the banner of the Redeemer. 



COLUMBUS STARTS ON HIS VOYAGE. 81 

Isabella and Ferdinand were then joint king and queen of 
Spain. Meanwhile, Columbus had gained many influential 
friends, among whom was a Jewish sea-faring family named 
Pinzon. and Luis de Santangel the spiritual adviser of Queen 
Isabella. 

At thi^ time Columbus seemed more likely to fall into the 
hands of the Inquisition and suffer for his heresy than to 
succeed in his great enterprise. 

At this juncture Luis de Santangel obtained audience with 
the queen, and addressed her with all the energy of a man who 
speaks for the last time in behalf of a favored project. Isabella 
listened attentively, hesitated a moment and then pledged her 
jewels to raise the amount necessary for the expedition. Con- 
temporary writers have been enthusiastic in their descriptions 
of Isabella : but time has sanctioned their eulogies. She is one 
of the purest and most beautiful characters on the pages 
of history. 

At length, on the 17th of April, A. I). ]4 ( .»2, Columbus was 
ushered into the royal presence, and received his commission. 
Immediately he commenced preparations, and on the 3rd of 
August, 1492, set sail on his ever-memorable voyage. The 
expedition consisted of three small vessels: the Santa Maria. 
commanded by Columbus; the Pinta, by Alartin Alonzo 
Pinzon; and the Xina. by Vincent Yanez Pinzon. "The 
Pinzons were doubly interested in this voyage, for while they 
sought for a new and profitable route of commerce, they doubt- 
less also felt a desire to find an asylum for their persecuted 
Jewish brethren." (See Lovel's American History, Canadian 
edition.) 

Having touched at the Canary Islands they sailed directly 
westward. On losing sight of the last trace of land the 
hearts of the crews failed them. Behind them was every- 
thing dear to the heart of man: country, family, friends, 
life itself; before them everything was chaos, mystery and 
peril. 

Columbus tried in every way to soothe their distress and 
inspire them with his own glorious anticipations. He described 
to them the magnificent countries to which he was about to 
conduct them : the islands of the Indian seas, teeming with 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

gold and precious stones; the regions of Mangi and Cathay 
with their cities of unrivalled wealth and splendor. Nor were 
these promises made for purposes of deception. Columbus 
evidently believed that he would realize them all. 

For many days they were gently but speedily wafted over a 
tranquil sea, but when near the middle of the Atlantic, they, 
for the first time, observed the variation of the needle of the 
compass, which no longer pointed directly north, but had 
veered around and pointed in a somewhat different direction. 




SHIPS OF COLUMBUS. 

Columbus was greatly perplexed yet dared not communicate 
his thoughts to anyone. It seemed as if the very laws of nature 
were changing, as they advanced, and they were entering 
another world subject to unknown influences; that the compass 
was about to lose its mysterious virtue, and without that guide 
what was to become of them on a vast and trackless ocean ? 
Columbus gave an explanation of this phenomenon which satis- 
fied the crew though unsatisfactory to himself. His situation 
was daily becoming more critical in proportion as they 



CREW BECOME MUTINOUS. 

approached the regions where he expected to find land. At 
length, on the 9th of October, the crew broke out in open 
mutiny and threatened to throw him overboard, designing then 




to return to Spain. A compromise was effected, that if they 
would continue to sail westward three days longer, and no land 
was discovered he would then return. Two days passed away 
and still no sight of land. 



84 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

On the evening of the second day, Columbus remained on 
deck. What were the feelings that pervaded his breast no one 
but God can tell ; with nothing but the heaving ocean beneath 
him and the silent stars o'er head. Anxiously he stands upon 
the prow of his vessel and peers into the darkness. It is one 
o'clock ! Suddenly a gleam as of a torch is seen in the horizon ! 
Is it a flash of phosphoric light as is sometimes seen on the 
surface of these tropical seas, or is it a blaze of fire indicating 
the habitations of men ? 

Soon the joyful cry of "Hoi land, ho !" resounded throughout 
the ship, and the booming of cannon announced the discovery 
to the other vessels. 

When the dawning of the morning came, they beheld in all 
their grandeur and beauty, the hills and valleys, streams and 
forests of a new world. The men who had been so lately 
mutinous now came forward and bowed down before Columbus, 
and did homage to him as though he were a god. 

Trials before triumphs have ever been the lot of self-taught 
men, and will be to the end of time. If the chosen heroes of 
this earth were counted over, they would be found to be men 
who stood alone and labored and waited; while those for 
whom they agonized and toiled poured upon them contumely 
and scorn. 

The very martyrs of the past who were hooted at, reviled 
and spit upon by the mob, are the ones who are honored now. 
They suffered cruel tortures and' burn ings ; to-day, the children 
of this generation are gathering up their scattered ashes to 
deposit them in the golden urn of a nation's history. 



HISTORY IN WORDS. 85 



CHAPTER IX. 



INFLUENCE OF ISRAEL-DISCOVERERS 
AND REFORMERS. 



HISTORY IN WORDS — BRITISH COAT OF ARMS — THE TEN 
TRIBES— ACCOUNT OF ESDRAS — DISPERSION OF THE 
TRIBES — MIXED SEED OF ISRAEL — EFFECT ON^EUROPEAN 
SOCIETY — JEWISH INFLUENCE — DISCOVERY OF CAPE. OF 
GOOD HOPE— PACIFIC OCEAN DISCOVERED— MAGELLAN'S 
VOYAGE— DISCOVERS CAPE HORN— DISTANCE SAILED— 
DEATH OF MAGELLEN — VOYAGE COMPLETED— ITS EFFECT 
ON THE PUBLIC — HUSS AND JEROME BURNED — JOHN 
ZISKA — PERSECUTIONS OF WALDENSES— CAPTURE OF 
MEN1Z — DISPERSION OF PRINTERS— HANS BOHEIM — JOSS 
FRITZ — SALE OF INDULGENCES — MARTIN LUTHERBURNS 
THE POPE'S LETTER — GRAND COUNCIL AT WORMS — 
ROME IN A RAGE — LUTHER KIDNAPPED. 

/^NE of the most pleasing and at the same time instructive 
^^ amusements in which a thoughtful mind can engage, is 
to trace the derivation of certain words of our language to the 
primitive times and people where they originated, and thus 
learn the social and mental condition of the people who first 
used them. It is pleasing to know that dish and mop, mat 
and rug, and other household terms are the very words that 
were spoken by the women of ancient Britian, two thousand 
years ago, and have been handed down from generation to 
generation, with little or no variation. In like manner the 
words ax, plow, house, post, bed, fire, and hundreds of others, 
can be easily discerned under the old Saxon forms. And as 
these words are precisely those that would be used by a rude or 
half-civilized people, while those words that refer to a more 
advanced state of society cannot be traced to our Saxon 
ancestors we may correctly infer the extent of their knowledge 



86 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

and social condition. Further, as the ancient British words 
refer to domestic affairs while those of Saxon origin refer 
exclusively to the avocations of man, we can easily perceive 
that the Anglo-Saxon tongue has originated from the 
marriage of the ancient British women with their Saxon con- 
querors. 

Hence Max Muller, the learned professor of languages, in 
the university at Oxford, England, very justly remarks that 
u by means of philology we have a more accurate record of our 
race than any narrative written by prejudice or ill-informed 
historians. ' ' 

Now it is generally admitted that Germans, Anglo-Saxons 
and men descended from these nationalities, in one word, 
German thought, led the van of progress in science, literature 
and religious thought, during the fourteenth, fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries, and in fact has continued to do so up to 
the present time. 

From the fifth century, when Attila, king of the Huns, 
declared himself u The scourge of God," wave after wave of 
conquest by these hardy warriors had swept over the hills and 
plains of western and southern Europe, until their blood and 
their love of civil and religious liberty were infused into every 
European nation. 

Now the language of the Goths, or ancient Germans,-plainly 
indicates that they were not the primitive people of Europe, 
but had conquered and intermingled with them in the same 
manner as the Saxons conquered and intermingled with the 
inhabitants of ancient Britain, or the Spaniards with those of 
Mexico. 

But it may be asked, whence came they? In this connec- 
tion two other questions may also be asked: why is it that the 
German language contains so many idioms and terms that 
bear a close relationship to the language of the ancient 
Hebrews and Chaldeans? (See Max Muller s lectures on lan- 
guage.) And why is it that the lion, which was the emblem 
of Judah, and the unicorn, which was the emblem of Israel, 
are in modern times, emblazoned on the coat of arms of 
England? (See Ant. of Jewsby Joseplius, also Num. xxiu.,22 
and Deut. xxxiii, 17. ) These questions are worthy of deep and 



ACCOUNT OF ESDRAS. 87 

careful consideration ; and to better understand them it will be 
necessary to briefly trace the history of the children of 
Israel. 

As is well known, after the death of Solomon the kingdom 
was divided into two parts, known as the kingdom of Judah 
and the kingdom of Israel. In 730 B. C, Hashem, king of 
Israel, became tributary to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. 
Nine years later his capital was taken and the greater portion 
of the people were carried away captive beyond the river 
Euphrates, and people from other countries were put in posses- 
sion of their inheritance. In the Apocrapha the Prophet 
Esdras states that these ten tribes went a journey of a year 
and a half into the north country. He says : ' 'These are the 
ten tribes which were carried away prisoners out of their own 
land in the time of Hosea the king, whom Shalmaneser the 
king of Assyria led away captive ; and he carried them over 
the waters so they came into another land. But they took 
this council among themselves, that they would leave the 
multitude of the heathen and go forth into a farther country 
where never mankind dwelt, that they might there keep their 
statutes which they never kept in their own land. For through 
that country there was a great way to go, namely, in a year 
and a half's journey, and the same region is called Arsareth." 
(II. Esdras, xuL 40, 41, 42 and 45.) 

Now by looking on a map of the eastern continent it will be 
seen at once that the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains 
lie directly north of the river Euphrates. It is quite possible 
that the Black Sea is the ; 'waters" to which Esdras refers. 
Also Josephus, in speaking of the return of the Jews under 
Esdras. says. "Many of them took their effects with them and 
came to Babylon, as very desirous of going down to Jerusalem, 
but then the entire body of the people of Israel remained in 
that country, wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and 
Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond 
the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude and not 
to be estimated by numbers." {Ant. Book II chapter 5.) 

Perhaps the words of the ancient Roman are not altogether 
fable when he says that "Beyond the Borean (Caucasus) Moun- 
tains live a people who are sublime in their virtue since they 



88 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

dwell very distant form the provinces, in great simplicity and 
give great heed to the oracles which their gods have given unto 
them. ' ' Thus we have not only the sure word of prophecy, 
but likewise the admission of heathen writers. 

Max Muller, in his work on language, in referring to the 
migrations of ancient European tribes, says, u Two great routes 
lay before them, one by way of the valleys of the Don and 
Volga across modern Russia to the shores of the Baltic, the 
other along the shores of the Black Sea to the valley of the 
Danube. ' ' 

He also demonstrates the close relationship that exists 
between the Hebrew language and the language of the people 
of Finland in western Russia. Considering that more than 
twenty-five centuries have rolled by since the dispersion of 
Israel, sufficient time has elapsed for mighty changes. Muller 
adds in another place, u The time was when the ancestors of 
the Indians, the Fins, the Slavonic and German tribes of cen- 
tral Europe and the modern English lived in one enclosure, 
nay, under the same roof." 

In the latter part of the second century or beginning of the 
third, these new settlers had spread as far westward as the 
Danube, and settled in the Roman province of Dacia, which 
lay on the north bank of that river. They also asked permis- 
sion to cross the river which was granted under certain stipula- 
tions. 

Still they continued to increase in numbers, and by inter- 
marriage with the native tribes had in the fifth century become 
formidable enemies of Rome and under the name of Dacians, 
Huns, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Suevi and Heruli 
precipitated themselves upon Italy and wreaked a terrible 
vengeance. 

The history of some of these, as the Huns for example, may 
be traced to the second century before the Christian era and to 
the very locality indicated by the Prophet Esdras and by Jose- 
phus. For over twenty- six centuries these scattered tribes 
have continued to mix up with the nations of the earth, but 
in their long migrations westward they have lost many of their 
distinctive characteristics. 



PACIFIC OCEAN DISCOVERED. 

Doubtless it is from this mixed seed of Israel that many, aye 
nearly all. the great reformers, inventors and discoverers have 
sprung. This infusion of new blood had a marked effect on 
the nations of western Europe, but more especially on Italy, 
which had continued to decline, from the days of Augustus, 
until these nations mingled with the degenerate ancient race, 
and infused new life into her decaying civilization. The result 
was that a succession of poets, painters, sculptors, philoso- 
phers, inventors and discoverers sprung up in Italy and western 
Europe unparalleled in the history of the world. Above all, 
the invention of printing had just come in time to spread 
whatever new ideas were afloat, with a rapidity never known 
before. In fifty-two years from the time of that invention 
came the discovery of America. Five years later two Jewish 
priests. Rabbi Abraham, and Rabbi Joseph, brought to King 
John II. j of Portugal, a Saracen map of the entire coast of 
Africa. 

Thus instructed King John sent out several expeditions in 
one of which Brazil was accidentally discovered. Aided by 
this. Yaseo de Grama set sail, and on Nov. 20th, 1497, rounded 
the cape of Good Hope. Sixteen years later Balboa discovered 
the Pacific Ocean, and six years still later, or in A. D. 1519, 
Magellan set out on his memorable voyage to circumnavigate 
the world. 

The story of that voyage of wild adventure seems never to 
grow old by repeating. The narrative of that voyage is too 
long for this brief sketch, but a few items may not be out of 
place. 

After many months of sailing in strange seas, he at length 
discovered a new land to which he gave the name of Patagonia. 
Here he found giants clad in skins, one of whom was greatly 
terrified at seeing his own image in a looking-glass. 

His perseverance was at last rewarded, and after fifteen 
months- of struggling and adventures he discovered Cape 
Horn, passed through the strait which now bears his name 
and entered the Great South Sea, on Nov. 28th, 1520. An 
eye-witness relates that he shed tears of joy when he recognized 
its great expanse, and that God had brought him where he 
might grapple with its unknown dangers. Admiring its placid 



00 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



• 









It 






"■1' 








''ill 



■'.Vtt.M i.HL... 



DEATH OF MAGELLAN. 91 

surface he courteously gave it the name it will ever bear, the 
"Pacific Ocean." Magellan was the first European to discover 
that when the nights are long in the northern hemisphere they 
are correspondingly short in the southern. When he passed 
through the straits the nights were only four hours long. At 
the same time in Spain they were nearly fifteen hours long. 
And now the great sailor having burst through the barrier of 
the great American continent steered for the north-west. For 
three months and fifteen days he sailed on and on. but saw no 
inhabited land. 

He and his crew were compelled by famine to soak old leather 
in the sea. then boil it and make of it a wretched food ; and to 
drink water that had become putrid by keeping ; yet he 
resolutely held his course, though his men were dying daily. 
He estimated that he sailed over this unknown sea more than 
twelve thousand miles. 

In the whole history of human undertakings there is nothing 
that exceeds, if indeed there is anything that equals, this 
voyage of Magellan. That of Columbus dwindles away in 
comparison. It is a display of super-human courage and per- 
severance, an exhibition of heroic resolution, not to be diverted 
from its purpose by any motive, or any suffering, but inflexibly 
persisting to its end. 

This unparalleled resolution met its reward at last. He 
reached the Ladrones. a group of islands north of the equator. 
Thence he sailed to the Spice Islands, where he met with 
European merchants. He had accomplished his object and 
proven that the earth was round. At an island called Zebu, 
or Mutan, he was murdered either by the natives or by his own 
men. In a few days more his crew learned that they were 
actually in the vicinity of their friends. On the morning of 
Xov. Sth. 1521, they entered Tidore. the capital of the Spice 
Islands, and the king swore upon the Koran alliance to the 
sovereign of Spain. 

Magellan's crew continued their voyage amid hardships and 
perils, and at length, on Sept. 10th, 1522, the good ship, San 
Vittoria, sailed, into the very port from which she had departed 
just three years and twenty-seven days before. She had 
accomplished the greatest achievement in the history of the 



92 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

human race. She had circumnavigated the earth. Magellan 
lost his life in his great enterprise, but he made his name 
immortal. His lieutenant Sebastian d'Elcano received the 
proudest and noblest medal ever given to a sailor. It was a 
golden globe belted with this inscription, Primus circumdedisti 
me — "Thou hast first circumnavigated me." 

At the present time it is almost impossible to conceive the 
effect of Magellan's voyage had upon the public mind. One 
of the leading dogmas of Rome Jiad been that the earth was 
flat. Now it was proved that the earth was indeed a vast ball. 
If Rome had been in error in this case, where was her infalli- 
bility? Might not some of her other teachings be equally 
false? Many leading minds began to doubt her authority. 
Even Pope Leo X. , is said to have become skeptical. At all 
events he chose to spend his leisure time in his library reading 
to his sister out of the beautiful new printed books which were 
then throwing a flood of intellectual light on all grades of 
society. The philosophy of Aristotle and Plato, the poems of 
Homer and Virgil, the sciences of the Saracens and the narra- 
tives of the adventures of Columbus and Vasco de Grama had 
more charms for him than burning and torturing heretics as his 
predecessors had done. 

While science was undermining the influence of Rome in one 
direction, religious thought was busy at work in another. That 
great religious revolution commonly called the Reformation 
had long been gathering its forces ; and already sounded from 
behind the Alps the loud clarion of battle. 

The memory of John Huss and Jerome of Prague was still 
fresh in the minds of the populace. Huss had been burned 
at Constance, in A. D. 1415, and Jerome the year following. 
When the news of these barbarous executions reached Bohe- 
mia, it threw the whole kingdom into confusion and a civil war 
was kindled from the ashes of the martyrs. 

John Ziska, the leader of the populace, collected an army of 
forty thousand men and defeated the emperor, Sigismund, in 
several battles. When Ziska found that he was dying, he gave 
orders that his skin should be made into a drum which was long 
the symbol of victory to his followers. 



CRUEL TREATMENT OF WALDENSES. 93 

The Waldenses also who dwelt in the valleys of Switzerland 
and Piedmont had lively memories of cruel wrongs. Their 




ancestors had been destroyed by Pope Innocent III., and as 
late as A. D. 1487, they had been driven to the mountains and 
obliged to wander there until their feeble and little ones were 



94 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

left buried in the Alpine snows. No wonder they chanted that 

grand old Irymn, commencing : 

"0 God, arise, avenge Thy slaughtered Saints, 

Whose bones lie bleaching on the Alpine mountains cold." 

The writings of Dante and Petrarch, Beuchlin and Erasmus, 
were already scattered in every direction, by means of the 
printing press, and wielded a mighty influence in society. 

The siege and capture of Mentz, in A. D. 1462, had the 
effect of scattering Guttenberg and his co-workers. Printing 
presses were established immediately afterwards in Italy, Spain, 
Portugal, Holland, France and England. 

In 1476, on the banks of the river Maine, in central Ger- 
many had appeared a strange character named Hans Boheim. 
He professed to be a prophet of God, to have received visions, 
and to have been sent to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven 
was at hand. More than forty thousand men flocked to his 
standard. At length the bishops of Mentz and Wurtzburg 
interfered, dispersed the crowd and burned the prophet. He 
was but a sign of the times — "a voice crying in the wilder- 
ness." His memory was not forgotten. In 1493, another 
movement took place, and again in 1501. Maximilian, the 
emperor of Germany, ordered the leaders to be quartered 
alive and their wives and children to be banished. But the 
fire was only slumbering. In 1512, it commenced again on a 
larger scale. It found a leader in Joss Fritz, a soldier of com- 
manding presence and great natural eloquence, used to battle 
and above all to patience. He was one of those who had 
escaped being quartered. His banner was blue silk with a 
white cross, and underneath the motto, "0 Lord, help the 
righteous." Fritz was the William Tell of his times. No 
wonder his name is a favorite one among the Germans. 

These conflicts, commonly known as the "Wars of the 
Peasants," had shown the masses that with more union and 
better information they were the real strength of the nation. 

Such was the condition of affairs in the very locality where, 
four years afterwards, burst forth the great religious revolution 
known as the Beformation. 

Society seemed waiting for a coming man of strong will and 
fervent religious nature, who should give something of organ- 



MARTIN LUTHER. 95 

ization to those movements, and gather around him an irresist- 
able phalanx of the noble, the learned and ardent spirits of 
the age. This man was Martin Luther. He came from his 
cell a shaven monk, in his hand no sceptre, on his head no 
crown. But he had a human heart within him ; and it gushed 
out for human woe. 

Strong in the principles of right he hurled the firebrands of 
truth right and left and kindled such a flame that all the waves 
of error could never quench it. 

The immediate cause of the Reformation was when John 
Tetzel, in 1574, was sent into Germany to sell indulgences. 

The church of Rome had long taught the people that the 
pope and clergy under him held the keys of heaven. At this 
time the pope was in need of means to complete that great 
cathedral called St. Peter's Church. He therefore issued 
indulgences or pardons for all kinds of sins. These pardons or 
indulgences entitled whoever bought them to a free passport 
to heaven. Nor was this all. A man of sufficient wealth 
could purchase the pardon of a sin he intended to commit. 
Thus the civil law was shorn of its power and the nation of its 
wealth. 

This bold blasphemy provoked the indignation of a people 
already ripe for revolution. 

Luther, then thirty-four years of age, began to denounce 
the sale of these indulgences. In 1520, the pope issued a 
decree, or bull, as it was called, condemning Luther and his 
writings. Luther in turn defied the pope. When the news 
reached him he took the decree and all the Roman books he 
could find, and on December 10, 1520, burned them in a public 
place just outside the walls of the city of Wittenberg. Then 
Luther was summoned to appear before a grand council, or 
court, to be held in the city of Worms. His friends procured 
him a passport or pledge of security, lest the papal authorities 
should take his life. 

Accordingly, on the 17th of April, 1521, Luther appeared 
before the council, or diet, as it was called. The Emperor 
Charles V., of Germany, presided in person. When Luther 
was asked to recant his opinions and deny his own teachings, 
he not only refused to do so but also pleaded his own cause 



96 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

with eloquence and power. So powerful were his arguments 
that many of the nobility were won over to his side. A poor 
monk, the son of a simple peasant, clad in the armor of truth, 
had defied and defeated the proudest potentates of earth ! No 
wonder that Rome was in a rage ! No wonder that the friends 
of Luther deemed it advisable to kidnap him and carry him 
away to the castle of Wartburg, in the solitudes of the Thur- 
ingian forest ! No wonder that those valiant knights, Ulrich 
von Hutten and Franz von Sickingen, prepared to use their 
swords and eloquence in defense of right ! We may not in all 
things admire the character of Luther or defend his acts ; yet 
no grander figure appears on the page_s of modern history than 
Luther, as, with one hand upon his breast and the other lifted 
towards heaven, he refused the emperor's demand to retract 
his writings or deny the truth, closing with these memorable 
words, "Hier stehe ich, Gott helfe mir. Amen.''' "Hete I 
stand, God help me. Amen." 

The battle that Luther fought was not only for Germany 
and the sixteenth century, but for all countries, all peoples and 
all coming times. It was a battle not merely against the 
pope, but against all powers religious or secular, that seek to 
enchain the human mind or prevent the free exercise of 
religion. 



GERMANY AROUSED. 97 



CHAPTER X. 



RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION. 



germany aroused— peasants war — muntzer s proclama- 
tion — emperor quarrels with the pope— results 
in other countries— growth of modern languages 
— luther's crowning work — power of superstition- 
witchcraft— reformers NOT INSPIRED — EXTRACTS 
FROM MOSHEIM— BATTLE-AX OF GOD— COPERNICUS — 
GALILEO — NEWTON — DEATH OF BRUNO— CHANGE IN 
COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS— SPANISH ARMADA — BLESSED BY 
THE POPE— DESTROYED BY A STORM — ITS EFFECT ON 
EUROPE — ENGLAND'S INFLUENCE AND POSITION — 
AMERICA THE LAND OF REFUGE. 

AS the booming of cannon, announcing the begining of 
battle echoes and re-echoes far and wide, so did the result 
of the council, or diet, in the city of Worms. The answer of 
Luther was repeated by thousands of sympathizing friends. 
Instead of growing fainter as it died away in the distance, it 
increased in intensity and power, till its echoes reverberated 
through every valley, and over every hill-top in central 
Germany. 

Within twenty- four hours Ulrich von Hutten and Franz von 
Sickingen had mustered four hundred armed knights and eight 
thousand foot soldiers all ready to fight, or, if need be, to die 
for the principles Luther had advocated. The commotion con- 
tinued until it culminated in a civil war, in A. I). 1525. The 
horrors of that war no tongue can tell. Nightly the papal 
party burned at the stake the prisoners they had taken. Amid 
the groans of wounded and dying peasants on the battle field 
around them, and the drunken revelry of the camp, might be 
heard the laughter of the nobles as they watched the struggles 
and heard the shrieks of their victims as they slowly roasted 
to death. But the revolution continued to spread. The rage of 

4* 



98 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

the peasants, who had so long been crushed by the iron heel of 
oppression, knew no bounds. A few extracts from the pro- 
clamation of their leader, Munzer, may not be out of place, as 
they indicate to some extent the nature of the conflict then 
going on! 

"Arise and fight the battle of the Lord! On! on! on! 
Now is the time ; the wicked tremble when they hear of you. 
Be pitiless ! Heed not the groans of the impious ! Rouse up 
ye townsmen and villagers ; above all, rouse up ye free men of 
the mountains ! On! on! on! while the fire is burning, while 
the warm sword is yet reeking with the slaughter ! Give the 
fire no time to go out, the sword no time to cool ! Kill all the 
proud ones ! While they reign over you it is no time to talk 
of God ! Amen. 

"Given at Muhlhausen, 1525. 
"Thomas Munzer, 

"servant of God against the wicked."? 

Such was the character of the men with whom the pope had 
to deal. At length the emperor, Charles Y., found it politic 
to side with his people. Meanwhile Clement VII., succeeded 
to the papal throne, in 1523. The emperor and the new pope 
soon quarrelled, and, in 1527, a German army acting under the 
direction of the German emperor captured and sacked the 
imperial city of Rome, and more pitilessly pillaged it than it 
had been a thousand years before by the Goths and Vandals. 
From this time Rome ceased to be the capital of the professedly 
Christian world. 

But the revolution stayed not here. Its principles of reform 
passed over the Alps and found a hearty welcome among the 
hardy mountaineers of Switzerland. It reached the Rhine and 
with the current of that mighty river flowed onward to the sea. 
The sturdy sons of Holland received its teachings ; and the 
patient peasantry of Denmark, Norway and Sweden accepted 
it as an improvement on the past. 

Germany continued in the throes of revolution for more than 
thirty years, or until the peace of Augsburg, in 1555. 

In the meantime England had revolted from Rome, in 1532; 
Denmark followed in 1538; Geneva in 1541; Norway and 
Sweden in 1550; Scotland in 1560; and Holland in 1581. 



RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION. 90 

Never in (he history of the world was fulfilled more literally 
the words that our Savior said in reference to the truth : 

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came 
not to send peace but a sword,'' etc. [See Matt. x. 34, 38.) 
For more than a hundred years Europe continued to be the 
theatre of civil wars, until the nations were completely 
exhausted — in some cases their power and influence perma- 
nently weakened. 

We might in view of its immedite results, be inclined to look 
upon the Reformation as producing more evil than good. Yet 
amid the wars, bloodshed, anarchy and persecutions, society 
made rapid steps in the path of progress. 

The Reformation promoted national growth, and mental 
activity. During the middle ages, the various nations of 
Europe were in the condition of colonies to a vast religious 
empire whose center and seat of government was Rome. But 
after the peace at Augsburg, 1555, all this was changed. 
Each nation that accepted the Reformation, became socially 
and religiously as well as politically free. Rome was shorn of 
her power. She was no longer the supreme court of appeal ; 
nor did the high dignitaries of those realms look to her for 
preferment. 

The Reformation was obviously only partially successsful. 
Where it succeeded it infused new energy ; where it failed it 
produced reaction. Those nations that rejected the light, 
glimmering though it was, fell back into the double bondage 
of kingcraft and priestcraft. The Bastile of France was a 
symbol of the one ; the Inquisition of Spain a type of the 
other. Wave after wave of revolution has swept over these 
unhappy countries. The guilty streets of Paris and Madrid 
have been deluged with blood until their population has sunk 
down into religious apathy or brazen infidelity. 

In no particular was the effect of the Reformation more 
apparent than in the impulse it gave to national languages and 
literature. Latin had been the language of the Roman empire 
and Roman church. But when the nations revolted from 
this central authority they immediately began to cultivate 
their own native tongues. Learning was no longer confined to the 



100 THE HAND OP PROVIDENCE. 

few, nor communicated through the medium of a foreign 
language, but became the heritage of the people. 

The crowning work of Luther was in giving to the German 
people his German Bible and hymns. The earnest, vigorous 
German in which they were written fixed the future style of 
the language. The classic German of to-day is the German of 
Luther's Bible, and Luther's hymns. 

In England, too, the same thing is to be marked. The 
English translation of the Bible, together with other works 
of that era, such as Shakspeare's dramas, Milton's poems and 
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, have done more to stamp 
the character of our modern English than all later publica- 
tions. 

It may be asked, Why did not the human mind, in this era, 
free itself from its trammels, claim its true freedom and 
concede it to every one? The answer is, the range of know- 
ledge was too narrow. The minds of men could not take a 
broader view ot things than the horizon of their knowledge 
let them. Ignorance and superstition still held a terrible 
sway. 

It is true that the whole character of that age bears the 
stamp of the German rather than the Italian intellect. It was 
the energy of a Luther, the learning and loving heart of a 
Melanchthon, the polished wit of an Erasmus, which then 
gave impulse and direction to the thoughts and opinions of 
the world, much more than the frivolous jesting of the infidel 
priests who thronged the streets of Home and the halls of the 
Vatican. Yet even these great men were controlled by 
superstition, to a very great extent. Witchcraft was uni- 
versally believed in at that time. Hundreds, aye thousands, 
of unoffending old women, with no other fault than that they 
were poor and old, were burned to death as witches, 
instead of being treated with that respect due to those who 
have lived many years and spent their best days for the good 
of others. 

Social eminence was no safeguard against these delusions. 
When it was affirmed that Agnes Sampson, with two hundred 
other witches, had sailed in sieves from Leith to North 
Berwick church to hold a banquet with the devil, James I. , 



POWER OF SUPERSTITION. 101 

had the torture applied to the wretched woman, and took 
pleasure in putting appropriate questions to her. It then was 
charged that the two hundred old women had baptized and 
then drowned a black cat, thereby raising a dreadful storm in 
which the ship that carried the king narrowly escaped being 
wrecked. Upon this, Agnes was condemned to the flames. 
She died protesting her innocence, and piteously calling on 
Jesus to have mercy on her for Christian men would not. 

Of all the early reformers, Luther and Melanchthon were 
perhaps the freest from superstition, and yet even they devoutly 
believed that in the Tiber, not far distant from the pope's 
palace, a monster had been found having the head of an ass, 
the body of a man and the claws of a bird. After searching 
their Bibles to find out what the prodigy meant, they at length 
concluded that it was one of the signs and wonders which were 
to precede the fall of the papacy, and published a pamphlet 
about it. Yet Luther and Melanchthon were the leaders of a 
great movement, the teachers of a great nation, and were in 
every respect the most influential persons in that nation. The 
people, credulous and grossly ignorant, listened and believed. 
We, at this distance of time and living in another realm of 
thought, can form but a faint conception of the effect these 
horrible conceits produced upon them. 

But the greatest need of those times was the want of divine 
authority. The writings of Luther, Melanchthon, Erasmus 
and Calvin were never considered as inspired. Luther himself 
never professed to have divine authority for his teachings; 
but on the other hand denounced the very idea of inspira- 
tion. 

When, in 1525, Munzer and his associates (commonly 
known as the prophets of Zwickaw) claimed divine authority, 
Luther was foremost in denouncing and persecuting them, and 
their followers. According to Mosheim, their principal crimes 
were in denying infant baptism and the right of a distinct 
class to preach for hire ; and asserting that ' 'God still con- 
tinued to reveal His will to chosen persons by dreams and 
visions." (See Mosheim Vol. II, p. 128.) They also claimed 
"that God in His own good time would erect to Himself a 
holy church possessing a perfect organization, and would set 



102 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

apart for the execution of this grand design, a certain number 
of chosen instruments divinely assisted and prepared for this 
chosen work, by the aid and inspiration of His Holy Spirit. 
As a consequence they claimed the right to rebaptizing persons 
coming from other churches. 

Mosheim further admits, u The extreme difficulty of correct- 
ing or influencing by the prospect of suffering, or even by the 
terrors of death, minds that are firmly bound by the ties of 
religion. In almost all the countries of Europe, an unspeak- 
able number of those unhappy people preferred death, in its 
worst forms, to a retraction of their opinions. Neither the 
view of the flames that were kindled to consume them, nor 
the ignominy of the gibbet, nor the terrors of the sword, could 
shake their invincible constancy or make them abandon tenets 
that appeared dearer to them than life itself and all its enjoy- 
ments." ( See Mosheim Vol. J/.., p. ] 31. ) 

To this sect and its principles Luther was bitterly opposed, 
but this opposition argues nothing in his favor, nor does it 
strengthen his authority. It may also be added that if Rome 
had divine authority, Luther had no right to secede from her. 
But if, as Luther claimed, she had through apostasy lost her 
authority, then, it may be asked, From whence did Luther 
receive his authority? In all this, Luther's actions were indeed 
logical, but fatal to the claims of modern sectarians who pro- 
fess to be the ministers of Christ. 

Luther was simply the battle-ax of God to hew down the 
edifice of popery which stood in the way of human progress. 
The churches, which, under the leadership of Luther, Melanch- 
thon, Zwingle, Calvin, Knox and Henry VIII. of England, 
separated from Rome received the name of Protestant. And 
this very name implies that they were merely a protest against 
Rome, her teachings and authority. The right of protesting 
being once granted, it follows that others, also, have the right 
to protest against them. This principle caused the long and 
bloody wars which were only closed by the peace of West- 
phalia, in 1648. and then it was found that central and north- 
ern Europe had cast off the intellectual tyranny of Rome, 
and had established the right of every man to think for him- 
self. 



ISAAf NEWTON. 103 

The Protestant party having thus established its existence, 
by protest and separation, was obliged to submit to the opera- 
tion of the same principles. A decomposition into many rival 
sects was inevitable. These having no central or controlling 
authority, and no longer in fear of their great Roman 
adversary, commenced bitter warfares on each other: Lutherans 
persecuted Catholics and Catholics persecuted Protestants, 
and they in turn persecuted Puritans. Even Calvin proved 
the darkness of his own mind when he put to death the 
celebrated philosopher and physician, Michael Servetus, whose 
greatest crimes were that in i eligion he denied that the Father, 
the Son and the Holy Ghost were one and the same person; 
and in science he had partially succeeded in discovering the 
circulation of the blood. The circumstances also were of the 
most atrocious character. For two hours he was roasted in 
the flames of a slow fire, begging for the love of God that 
they would put on more wood, or do something to end his 
torture. 

Yet the death of Servetus was not without advantage to the 
world. Men asked with amazement and indignation if the 
atrocities of the Inquisition were again to be revived. They 
saw at once that intolerance was not confined to the Romish 
church. 

In spite of all these commotions, science was making rapid 
progress. Copernicus lived at the same time as Luther and 
died two years before him. His was as brave a life as ever lived 
in story. For thirty-six years — at the very time the Protestant 
struggle was raging — he was working at that immortal book, 
in which he so clearly demonstrates the motions of the earth 
and the revolutions of the planets around the sun. But he 
did not dare to publish it until there was a lull in the political 
storm. He was then an old man in broken health. His book 
was in the printer's hands when he was on his death bed. He 
waited at death's door from day to day. At length the mes- 
senger arrived with the printed book. He received it with 
tears in his eyes, composed himself and died. 

Copernicus was followed by Tycho Brahe. Kepler and Galileo, 
and last, but by no means least, Isaac Xewton, that scientific 
giant, who burst through the fetters of the ages, and taught 



104 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

man the laws, harmony and grandeur of the Creator's 
works. 

During these troublous times Leonardo da Vinci wrote his 
celebrated works on mathematics and natural philosophy ; and 
the arts of painting, sculpture and music were greatly 
improved under the direction of Titian, Corregio, Michael 
Angelo and Filippo Neri. A few years later Bruno wrote his 
work on the plurality of worlds. 

Copernicus having died soon after the publication of his 
works, was beyond the reach of his persecutors. Galileo was 
brought before the Inquisition, and after years of imprison- 
ment, only saved his life by denying the great truths he had 
discovered. But Bruno heroically refused to recant, and was 
tortured to death February 16th, 1700, a martyr to the cause of 
truth. 

While these things were transpiring, great changes had 
taken place in the maratime and commercial affairs of the 
world. Bold navigators had sailed along the whole eastern 
coast of America, and a large part of the western coast. 
Tolerably accurate maps of the outlines of the western 
hemisphere, had been published as early as 1590. After these 
discoveries, the great centers of commerce were no longer to 
be found on the shores of the Mediterranean, but had shifted 
to the shores of the Atlantic. 

England by her geographical position, betwixt the two con- 
tinents, and in the very center of the inhabitable portion of the 
earth, as well as the indomitable energy of her sons, had 
rapidly become the foremost commercial nation of the world. 

The great naval armament called the Invincible Armada, 
was equipped for the subjugation of England ; but in the 
providence of God she destroyed the Armada and paralized 
the influence of Spain. 

In May, 1588, a Spanish fleet of one hundred and thirty 
ships sailed from the harbor of Lisbon for the English coast. 
Some of these ships were the largest that had yet been built ; 
they carried eight thousand sailors, and twenty thousand 
Spanish troops. The pope had blessed the expedition and 
offered the sovereignty of England as the conqueror's prize. 
The Catholics throughout Europe were so confident of success 



INSTRUCTION OF TEIE SPANISH ARMADA. 105 

that they named the armament "The Invincible Armada." 
So vast was the number of ships that, as they sailed along in 
the form of an inverted V (thus A), or in the form of a vast 
flock of wild geese, the distance from one extremity of the 
fleet to the other was more than seven miles. 
But they were destined to realize that 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform; 
He plants His footsteps in the sea, 
And rides upon the storm." 

Scarcely had the fleet entered the English channel when a 
storm arose which lasted more than a week. The wind 
blew a perfect gale from the south-west, so that it was impos- 
sible for them to return if they had so desired. The line of 
battle could no longer be kept up. They drifted helplessly 
and in disorder up the straits of Dover. When nearly 
opposite Calais, the English loaded several vessels with gun- 
power, set them on fire and sent them into the Spanish fleet. 
The explosions caused terrible havoc. The Spanish admiral no 
longer thought of victory, but only of escape. But his dis- 
asters were not yet ended. Many of his vessels were wrecked 
on the shores of Norway and Scotland. In returning around 
the north coast of Ireland a second storm was experienced 
with almost equal loss. Only a few shattered vessels of this 
mighty armament returned to Spain to bring intelligence of 
the calamities that had overwhelmed the rest. The defeat of 
the Armada was regarded even then as the work of Provi- 
dence. The Spanish king, when he heard the news, exclaimed, 
"I did not expect to fight the elements!" Thus was the 
triumph of the Protestant cause secured, the lovers of freedom 
throughout Europe were encouraged, and the power of Spain 
forever paralyzed in the atFairs of Europe. Henceforth the 
commerce and prosperity of Spain declined. King Philip, 
who had planned the Armada, died in 1598, and bequeathed a 
vast debt to his nation whose resources were already exhausted, 
notwithstanding her rich mines of gold and silver in the new 
world. In 1589, the next year after the destruction of the 
Armada, Henry IV, , the first Protestant king of France, 



106 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

ascended the throne, and by the Edict of Nantes secured to 
the Protestants the free exercise of their religion. 

England, at that time the mistress of the seas, held 
the keys of the commerce of Europe. Her long con^ 
flict with her Catholic sovereigns, and the Catholic powers of 
Europe, had taught her self-reliance, and had educated her 
people in the principles of self-government. Her laws were 
the best the world then new. Henceforth she became the 
favored land of the seed of Abraham, and the asylum of the 
oppressed of every nation. 

The foregoing will indicate to some extent the condition of 
society in Europe at the beginning of the seventeenth century. 
It is not surprising that under such circumstances men began 
to look toward America, as the land of refuge, where the 
institutions of liberty might be planted and fostered, and 
political institutions framed which would insure unto all, life, 
liberty and religious toleration. 



CHAPTER XI. 



ANCIENT AMERICAN CIVILIZATION. 



COLUMBUS DESTROYED PAPAL DOGMAS— CRUELTY OF SPAN- 
IARDS—THEIR RETRIBUTION — RELICS IN MASSACHUSETTS 
— NEWPORT TOWER — MOUNDS IN OHIO— REMAINS FOUND 
IN IOWA — PLATES FOUND IN ILLINOIS — ANCIENT MEXI- 
CAN PYRAMIDS — HUMAN SACRIFICES— VIEW ^FROM THE 
GREAT PYRAMID— ANCIENT AMERICAN SCULPTURES — 
MAMMOTHS — MEXICAN CUSTOMS— RELIGIOUS RITES— COM- 
PUTATION OF TIME — ARTS AND SCIENCES— DESCRIPTION 
OF PERU— ITS CIVILIZATION — MASSACRE OF THE INCAS 
— TESTIMONY OF TRAVELERS— INDIAN TRADITIONS. 

IN ancient times, Rome had taught that the earth was flat ; 
and that the whole habitable world was comprised in the 
three divisions of the eastern continent. To these divisions 



COtUMBtJS DESTROYED PAPAL DOGMAS. 107 

were assigned respectively the descendants of Shem, Ham and 
Japheth, the three sons of Noah. 

When America was discovered, these dogmas were obliged 
to fall. If indeed Columbus had, as he supposed, reached the 
Indies by a westward voyage, then the world was proven to be 
a vast ball. If on the other hand America was a separate con- 
tinent, divided from the eastern by a wild waste of waters of 
many thousand miles in extent, as was shown by the voyage 
of Magellan, a few years later, then it was found necessary to 
account for the origin of the inhabitants. 

The teachings of Rome were altogether against their being 
descended from Adam, since none such were mentioned in their 
scriptures. The protestant sects were too busy in their rival- 
ries, dissensions and civil wars, to give much attention to the 
subject. The stupendous event recorded in Gen. x. 25, seems 
to have entirely escaped their notice. Hence they proceeded 
to act towards the unfortunate inhabitants of ancient America, 
as though they did not belong to the human race. 

The conquest of Mexico and Peru by the Spaniards will 
ever remain one of "the bloodiest pictures in the book of 
Time." By millions upon millions, whole races and nations 
were ruthlessly destroyed. It was one unspeakable outrage, 
one unutterable ruin, without discrimination of age, sex or 
character. Those who fell not by the sword, died under the 
lash in a tropical clime, or perished in the darkness and damp- 
ness of the mines. From the fever- stricken coast of Mexico, 
and the gloom of dense forests in Central America ; from 
hiding places in the clefts of the rocks, and from the eternal 
snows of the Andes, where there was no witness but the all- 
seeing eye of God, there went up to Him a cry of human 
despair. 

The Bishop of Chiapa affirms that more than fifteen millions 
were destroyed in his time. From Mexico and Peru was 
crushed out a civilization that might have instructed Europe. 

What treasures would now be given for a view of that won- 
derful civilization and people that met the gaze of Cortez and 
his companions! 

Is it for nothing that Spain has been made a hideous 
skeleton among the nations — a warning spectacle to the world? 



108 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



Had not her punishment overtaken her, men would have 
surely said: "There is no retribution ; there is no God." She 
has 1 een the instrument in the hands of Rome of ruining 
two civilizations : an eastern and a western : and both of the 




CRUELTIES OF SPAIN. 109 

seed of Abraham : and in turn she has been ruined thereby 
herself. 

With circumstances of dreadful barbarity, she expelled the 
Jews and Saracens who had become the children of her soil 
by a residence of more than seven hundred years, and in 
America destroyed nations, in some respects more civilized 
than herself. By expulsion she lost some of her best citizens; 
and the wealth of Mexico and Peru, induced habits of luxury 
and effeminacy among the remainder. Her great cities have 
sunk into insignificance, and towns that once boasted of more 
than a million inhabitants can now only show a few scanty 
thousands. Surely the hand of God is visible in the degrada- 
tion of Spain. 

It is not alone the massive ruins of Central America, Yuca- 
tan, Peru and Mexico, that astonish the beholder. In almost 
every part of the western continent may be found the footprints 
of a mighty race, now vanished from the earth. 

In the copper mines on the shores of Lake Superior, have 
been found the implements of those who worked in those 
mines many centuries ago. These instruments are made of 
copper, yet some of them are of so fine a temper that 
they will turn the edge of the best steel instruments of our times. 

A few years ago, in digging down a hill near the town of 
Fall River. Massachusetts, a mass of earth slid off uncovering 
a human skull which was found to belong to a human skeleton 
buried in a sitting posture. When the covering was removed, 
the astonished workman saw that the trunk of the skeleton 
was encased in a breastplate of brass. This breast plate was 
oval in form, about thirteen inches long, ten in width and 
nearly one-fourth of an inch in thickness. Below the breast- 
plate, and entirely encircling the body, was a belt composed of 
brass tubes, each four and a half inches in length and one-fourth 
of an inch in diameter. The poet, Longfellow, has written a 
poem on this subject with which, no doubt, many of our readers 
are familiar. The poem commences : 

"Speak, speak thou fearful guest, 
Who, with thy hollow breast. 
Still in rude armor drest, 
Comest to daunt me," 



110 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



Not far distant, on the bank of the Taunton river, is the 
celebrated Dighton Eock, a huge piece of fine-grained granite 
covered with sculptures and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Both 
the skeleton and the inscriptions on the rock seem to be of 
Asiatic origin. The armor is the same as appears in drawings 
taken from the sculptures found at Palanqne, Mexico. 




ANCIENT TOWER AT NEWPORT. 

Not far from Newport, in the state of Rhode Island, near the 
sea shore, is a strange tower, which may have been the base for 
a beacon or light-house. 

At Marietta, Ohio, are ancient works that [cover an area 
about three-fourths of a mile long, and half a mile broad. But 



REMAINS POUND IN IOWA, 11 

the most intricate, and perhaps the most extensive, are those in 
the Licking Valley, near Newark, Ohio, extending over an area 
of two square mile-. 

These mounds are evidently the remains of ancient fortifica- 
tions, as they are invariably situated on a commanding emi- 
nence, or by the side of a stream. Many of these mounds 
have been found to contain skeletons ; and the appearance of 
the bones would seem to point to an antiquity of more than a 
thousand years. 

Curious pottery, known as "coil-made pottery,'' has been 
found in the mounds and caves, and at the ruined '"pueblos," 
or ancient villages, in Utah. These vessels seem to have been 
formed without the aid of a potter s wheel, by coiling bands of 
day upon themselves. 

Other relics have been discovered in various parts of the 
continent which throw some light on the mental and social con- 
dition of the ancient inhabitants of America. In August, 
1875, on an island in the Mississippi river, near the city of 
Davenport, Iowa, was found a petrified skeleton. But the 
most singular part of the find came to light in the hardened 
and petrified straps, bronze buckles and wooden leg which con- 
tinued the right extremity, that limb having been removed 
about midway between the hip and knee. This very interest- 
ing discovery proves that the arts of manufacturing bronze, and 
artificial limbs, as well as the art of surgery, were well known 
among the ancient Americans. These remains were handed 
over to the Academy of Sciences, and a photograph was taken 
of the inscription contained on a rock in the vicinity. A copy 
of this photograph was forwarded to the late Mr. Barfoot, then 
curator of the Deseret Museum, in Salt Lake City. 

On the 16th of April, 1S43, in a mound near Kinderhook, 
Pike county, Illinois, were found six plates of brass of a bell 
shape, each having a hole near the small end, and a ring 
through them all. The plates were so completely covered with 
rust, as almost to obliterate the characters inscribed upon each 
side of them. But after undergoing a chemical process, the 
inscriptions were brought out plain and distinct. 

There were indications that lead to the belief that this 
mound was the tomb of a family or person of distinction, in 



112 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

ages long gone by; and these plates probably contain the 
history of a person or people who existed at a time far beyond 
the memory of the present race. [For further particulars see 
appendix to 0. Pratt's Works.) 

"In 1815, near Pittsfield, Mass., at a place called Indian 
Hill, was found what appeared to be a black strap about six 
inches in length and one and a half in breadth, and about the 
thickness of a leather trace to a harness. On examination it 
was found to be formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide sewed 
and made water-tight with the sinews of some animal and 
gummed over; and in the fold were contained pieces of parch- 
ment, of a dark-yellow hue and on which [was some kind of 
writing. Three of the pieces were preserved and sent to the 
University of Cambridge, Mass. , where they were examined 
and discovered to have been written with a pen in Hebrew, 
plain and legible. The writing was quotations from the Old 
Testament, Deut, vi. 4-9, inclusive, and chap. xi. 13-21, 
inclusive, and Exodus xiii, 11-16, inclusive. [See Voice of 
Warning. ) 

The ancient Mexican pyramids, "teocallis," or temples of the 
sun, were still more remarkable. Two of the most ancient of 
these, near the city of Mexico, were each nearly 200 feet high, 
and the larger of these two, covers an area of eleven acres, 
which is nearly equal to that of the pyramid of Cheops, in 
Egypt. 

But the greatest pyramid was that of Cholula. Each side 
of its base was one thousand four hundred and twenty-three 
feet, twice as long as the great pyramid of Cheops. It may 
give some idea of its dimensions to state that its base covers 
nearly forty-four acres, and the area on its summit embraces 
more than one. On this elevation stood a costly temple, in 
which was the image of the mystic deity Quetzalcoatl "god of 
the air," wearing a mitre on his head, waving with "plumes 
of fire." A resplendent collar of gold hung around his neck : 
he held a richly-jeweled scepter of gold in one hand, and a 
curiously painted shield, emblematic of his rule over the winds, 
in the other. This temple faced the east, and in front of it, 
and in view of the whole valley, was the great altar of porphyry 
on which were offered human sacrifices. 



VIEW FROM THE GREAT PYRAMID. 113 

Each year, one was chosen from the most illustrious captives 
taken in war. He was arrayed in costly apparel. He feasted 
on the most delicate viands. The people did homage to him 
as to a king. Whatever could contribute to his pleasure was 
freely given. At length the fatal day arrives. Slowly and by 
a circuitous route a procession ascends the pyramid. It is com- 
posed of the captive. Mexican priests, and some of the notables 
of the government, accompanied by bands of music. As they 
asend the captive throws away his garlands, then his jewels 
and at length portions of his dress, as emblematic that death 
will disrobe us all. Having arrived at the top. he is stretched 
upon the huge altar of stone, and there sacrificed for the sins 
of the people. Afterwards the people feast upon his flesh — 
not as famished cannibals — but at a table teeming with 
delicious fruits and fragrant flowers. They who partook of his 
flesh were considered to have an especial share in the merits of 
the sacrifice. Compare with this. John, vi. chapter, 4 s to 55 verse. 
III. Xephi. xviii. chapter. Some idea may thus be gained con- 
cerning the origin of these rites and their terrible perversion 
caused by apostasy. 

Xothing can be more grand than the view which meets the 
eye, from the area on the summit of the pyramid. Towards 
the \Yest stretched that bold barrier of rocks, which nature has 
reared around the valley of Mexico. Far away to the East 
are the barren though beautifully-shaped Sierras, towering 
high into the clouds and standing like sentinels to guard the 
entrance to the valley. Three of these are volcanoes, higher 
than the highest mountain peak in Europe, aud shrouded in 
snows which never melt under the fierce sun i»f the tropics. 
At the feet of the spectator lay the sacred city of Cholula 
with its bright towers and pinnacles sparkling in the sun. 
reposing amidst gardens and verdant groves. 

Such was the magnificent prospect which met the gaze of 
Cortes and his companions, and may still with slight change, 
meet that of the modern traveler, as from the platform of the 
great pyramid, his eye wanders over the fairest portion of the 
beautiful plateau of Peublo. 

Xow the question arises, who built these mounds in 
the Mississippi valley, and these pyramids in Mexico? To 



114 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

what race belong the relics found in Massachusetts, Illinois 
and Iowa? Surely not to the Indians who were found in 
America when the country was discovered ; for these things 
indicate a greater skill and culture than those tribes pos- 
sessed. 

Antiquaries have furnished many theories to answer this 
question which arises in the mind of every student. Some of 
these theories are very ingenious, but all are lacking in that 
important element, truth. 

For more than three hundred years no certain light was 
thrown upon the history of that race. But that which man 
could not find out, with all his learning and research, God 
has revealed in His own due time. And here we see a wonder- 
ful manifestation of the hand of God in the history of this 
continent. A record, authentic, though brief, has been given 
to the world. The writings of some of the ancient worthies 
of that race have been preserved in the earth and have now 
come forth for the guidance and instruction of living men. 

The Book of Mormon contains sketches of their history and 
the dealings of God with these peoples in a similar manner, 
as the [Bible teaches the history and dealings of God with His 
ancient people, the Jews. It also contains many incidental 
references to their mental and social condition and the 
extent to which the arts and sciences were cultivated among 
them. 

It teaches us that when the Lord confounded the languages 
at Babel, He led forth a colony from thence to the western 
continent, now called America. This colony, after crossing the 
ocean in eight vessels and landing in this country, became in 
process of time a great nation. They inhabited America 
about fifteen hundred years but were at length destroyed for 
their wickedness, about six hundred years before Christ. A 
prophet by the name of Ether wrote their history and an 
account of their destruction. 

This people is known in modern history by the name of 
Toltecs, the ruins of whose edifices are widely scattered in 
Yucatan and Central America. 

The sculptures and hieroglyphics on these ruins bear a 
striking resemblance to those found in the ruins of Babylon 



MAMMOTH AND MASTODON. 



115 



and Nineveh. It also appears that the mammoth, or Amer- 
ican elephant, and mastodon — animals which are now extinct 
— then roamed the wilds of the western continent ; for repre- 
sentations of these animals are often found sculptured on the 
walls of Toltec ruins. Some persons have tried to throw 




doubts upon these statements alleging that no such animals 
ever existed outside of tropical regions. However, numerous 
remains of them have been found in various parts of America, 
especially in Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and Oregon. In 
Siberia they have been found frozen in a complete state of 
preservation. The illustrious Rufin Piotrowski, a Polish 



116 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

exile, gives a full account of these animals and the methods 
employed by the Russian government in cutting them out of 
the ice. ( See Souvenirs oVun Slberien. ) 

It is no doubt to these animals that reference is made in the 
fourth chapter of the book of Ether. 

After this, another colony came from Jerusalem about six 
hundred years before Christ and re-peopled America. This 
last colony grew and multiplied, and finally gave rise to two 
mighty nations. One of these was called Nephitcs, the 
other Lamanites. 

The Xephites were a civilized and enlightened people. For 
nearly one thousand years they were, from time to time, 
favored with revelations from God. Prophet after prophet 
was raised up from among them, and at length they were 
blessed with a personal appearance of Jesus Christ, after His 
resurrection, from whose mouth they received the doctrine of 
the gospel and a knowledge of the future down through all 
succeeding ages. But, after all the blessings and privileges 
conferred upon them, they fell into great wickedness in the 
third and fourth centuries of the Christian era, and finally 
were destroyed by their enemies, the Lamanites. 

But though the Nephite race has vanished from the earth ; 
still the grandeur of its ruins attest the greatness of its 
civilization. Indeed it seems impossible to understand the 
character and extent of these ruins unless we admit the truth 
of the records given by Mosiah,-Alma and Nephi, concerning 
the arts, sciences, mode of warfare, religion and subsequent 
apostasy and degradation of that people. In fact, as researches 
continue it becomes more and more evident that ancient 
American civilization was only a transcript of ancient Jewish 
and Egyptian architecture, manners, customs and modes of 
thought. In matters of government, the pomp of their 
monarchs, the arbitrary power, and the obligation of all to 
military service present a striking resemblance to the powers 
and privileges of the kings of ancient Israel. Likewise their 
religious state was only a reflection of that of Asia. Their 
worship was an imposing ceremonial. Though the common 
people had a mythology of many gods, similar to the saint- 



RELIGIOUS RITES. 117 

worship of Rome, yet the higher-cultured classes acknowl- 
edged but one almighty Creator. 

Marriage was celebrated by religious ceremonies and the 
laws pertaining thereto bore a striking resemblance to those of 
ancient Israel. Polygamy was sanctioned, but in practice was 
generally confined to the wealthy. 

The priests administered a rite of baptism to infants and 
proselytes for the purpose of washing away their sins. They 
also taught that there are rewards and punishments in a world 
to come — a paradise for the good, and a hell of darkness for 
the wicked. But the highest glory and reward was preserved 
for the noble few who fell in sacrifice or in battle for the cause 
of right. They went directly in to the presence of the sun, 
whom they accompanied in his bright progress through the 
heavens. After a few years these spirits went to animate the 
clouds and add luster to the glories of the sunset, or were sent 
to rule over and increase the pure and undying light of the 
stars. Who does not see in all this the traces of a purer 
religion, which centuries of apostasy and degardation had not 
been able to entirely destroy? This is all the more manifest 
when we consider some of their maxims and forms of prayer. 
One was: "Bear injuries with humility, God, who sees, will 
avenge you." Another was: "Clothe the naked and feed the 
hungry, whatever privations it may cost thee ; for remember, 
their flesh is like thine and they are men like thee.' 1 Again: 
"Impart to us, Lord, out of Thy great mercy Thy gifts 
which we are not worthy to receive through our own merits. 
Also : "0, merciful Lord, thou who knowest the secrets of all 
htarts, let Thy forgivness and favor descend." In all these we 
find sentiments such as are contained in the scriptures of the 
Old Testament. 

One of the most important duties of the priesthood was 
that of education, to which certain buildings were appropriated. 
To each of the principal temples, schools were attached and 
lands were annexed for the maintenance of the priests. Their 
writings were on cotton cloth or skins, or on papyrus, a kind of 
paper made from the aloe. At the time of the Spanish con- 
quest, vast collections of these manuscripts were in existence ; 
but the first archbishop of Mexico, burned them in the 



118 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

market-place. Rome was determined that no literature should 
exist but her own. 

The Mexican year consisted of eighteen months and each 
month of twenty days; five days were added to make the 
number to three hundred and sixty-five. To provide for the 
leap years they added twenty-four days to each century. The 
Mexican mode of reckoning was then superior to that of 
Europe. When the nations of Europe adopted the calendar 
discovered and perfected by the Jews and Saracens, then 
their mode of reckoning corresponded with that discovered by 
the seed of Abraham on this continent and both were true. 

The ancient Americans had ascertained the globular form 
of the earth previous to their contact with Europeans. Catholic 
Europe would not admit that truth till compelled to by the 
voyages of Columbus and Magellan. 

Their agriculture was in some respects superior to that of 
Europe. There was nothing in the old world to compare 
with the menageries and botanical gardens of Huax-tepec, 
Chapultepec and Tezcuco. 

They excelled in the arts of the jeweller and enameller. 
They were skillful weavers of fine cloth. They were not 
ignorant of the use of iron ; and understood the manufacture 
of bronze, of which they also made use. To them we are 
indebted for tobacco, snuff, chocolate and cochineal. From 
them we learned the use of the potato, which has now extended 
to all parts of the civilized world. They, like us, knew the 
use of intoxicating drinks ; and like us sometimes partook of 
them to excess. 

This sketch would be incomplete without a reference to the 
civilization of Peru. As Egypt was the cradle of civilization 
in the old world, so Peru was in the new. Like Egypt also it 
was in most parts a rainless region. The ancient Peruvian 
empire was nearly two thousand four hundred miles in length, 
but scarcely sixty miles in width — a narrow strip hemmed in 
between the grand Andes mountains and the Pacific ocean. 

The sides of this great mountain range might seem altogether 
unfitted for agriculture. But the advanced state of Peruvian 
civilization is at once demonstrated when it is said that these 
mountain slopes had become a garden. Immense terraces 



DESCRIPTION OF PERI'. 



110 



were constructed wherever required, and irrigation was 
employed on the grandest scale the world has ever seen. Peru 
possessed a varied climate. In the lower valleys near the coast 
could be raised all the products of tropical regions, at an 
elevation of a few thousand feet the climate was adapted for 




MUMMY. 

grains of a temperate zone. On table-lands, at a great eleva- 
tion above the sea. there were villages and even cities. Thus 
the plain on which Quito stands, under the equator, is nearly 
en thousand feet high, and enjoys a climate of perpetual 



120 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

spring. So great was their industry that the Peruvians had 
gardens and orchards above the clouds, and on ranges still 
higher flocks of sheep and llamas, in regions bordering on the 
limit of perpetual snow. 

In Cuzco, the metropolis, was the residence of the inca or 
emperor, and the great temple of the sun. 

The inca was both temporal prince and ruling priest of their 
religion. Though they ostensibly worshiped the sun, yet the 
higher classes recognized the existence of one almighty, invis- 
ible God. 

Like the Egyptians, the Peruvians understood the art of 
embalming the dead. The mummies of their incas being 
placed in the vaults beneath the temple of the sun, at Cuzco. 

This city contained edifices which excited the amazement of 
the Spanish adventurers themselves — streets, squares, bridges 
and fortresses surrounded by turretted walls. The public 
walls of Peru as well as Mexico were superior to those of 
Spain herself. Two great military roads extended the whole 
length of the empire — one along the coast, the other along the 
base of the mountains. These highways greatly aided the 
Spaniards in their conquest of the country. 

Having gained possession of the country and robbed the 
inhabitants of their gold, silver and precious stones, they put 
to death the inca and nobility, and took possession of their 
residences. 

The enormous crime of Spain in destroying this civilization 
has never been fully appreciated. In vain the Spaniards 
excuse their atrocities, on the plea that those nations were 
savages and permitted human sacrifices. True, the nations of 
America sank very low when the light of the gospel was with- 
drawn ; but every candid mind will ask: "Which was the 
more degraded, papal Europe or apostate America?" Human 
sacrifice, however cruel, has nothing in it degrading to its 
victim. It may be rather said to ennoble him by devoting him 
to the gods. Although so terrible with the Mexicans, it was 
sometimes voluntarily embraced by them as the most glorious 
death, and one that opened a sure passage into paradise. 

There was no spectacle on the American continent, at which 
a just man might so deeply blush for his race as that presented 



THE HORRIBLE CRIMES OF EUROPE. 121 

in Western Europe when the myrtyr, from whom confession 
had been wrung by torture, passed to the stake in a sleeveless 
garment, with flames of fire and pictures of devils painted 
upon it. Let it be remembered that from A. D. 1481 to 1808, 
more than three hundred and forty thousand persons had been 
tortured, and out of these nearly thirty-two thousand burnt. 




Let it also be re me in be red that tlie body of man is of less 
value than the immortal soul, for the redemption of which the 
agony and death of the Son of God was not too great a price 
to pay. Let it not be forgotten that at that period the entire 
authority of Europe was directed to the enslaving of the minds 
and souls of men and making that noblest creation of heaven 
a worthless machine. 



122 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

Everywhere throughout the continet may be found traces of 
Bible and Nephite history. Humbolt, in his travels, mentions 
a multitude of native books in which were described all the 
leading circumstances and history of the deluge, of the fall of 
man, and the first murder as perpetrated by Cain. 

Clavigero, in his history of Mexico, tells of an ancient native 
manuscript, found at Chiapa, which gives a plain and brief 
account of the building of the tower of Babel, the confusion 
of tongues, and the subsequent migration of Votan, or Jotan, 
(no doubt a corruption of Jared) and his companions to the 
continent of America. 

The Indians of Cuba related to Bernal Diaz, a companion 
and historian of Columbus, a complete and scarcely corrupted 
account of the deluge, the intoxication of Noah and Ham's 
shameful conduct. 

Humboldt mentions numerous traditions existing among the 
natives of Yucatan and Central America concerning a great 
religious teacher, a wonderful personage, whom they called 
Quetzalcoatl, and who was a white and bearded man. "Many 
things are said of him in their books of parchment, and among 
others, that when he left them he gave them wise laws and 
maxims, and promised to return and rule over them and renew 
their happiness/' Compare with this the record of Nephi. 
[See III. Nephi, chap. ii. to xxviii. inclusive.) 

A tradition of the Wyandott Indians, published by Frederick 
Falley, of Sandusky, 0., in 1823, gives a plain account of 
the battle of Cumorah. Both Breckenridge and Humboldt 
conclude that "a great battle took place in the region of the 
great lakes not later than the year 544 of the Christian era? 
after which the Aztecs [Lamanites] took possession of the 
country southward/' 

The foregoing will indicate to some extent the workings of 
the hand of God, as manifested in the history of this continent. 
Volumes might be written on this subject, but enough has 
been said to awaken inquiry among the honest-in-heart and 
indicate the treasures contained in the Nephite annals, and 
corroborated by the ruins of 

"This old, old land, which men call new ; 
This land as old as time is old." 



England's development. 123 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE COLONIZATION OF ACADIA. 



ENGLAND S DEVELOPMENT — REIGN OF ELIZABETH — INFLU- 
ENCE OF THE BIBLE — TYRANNY OF THE KINGS — JACQUES 
CARTIER— DISCOVERY OF THE ST. LAWRENCE — QUEBEC 
FOUNDED — ACADIA COLONIZED— TRANSFERRED TO ENG- 
LAND—EXTRACTS from Longfellow's poem — Virginia 

SETTLED. 

TN previous chapters we have traced the instrumentalities 
-*• which God used in the unshackling of the minds of men 
from the superstitions of the past, and disciplining them for 
the reception of higher truths. We have seen how, amidst 
the rage of tyrants and in spite of the opposition of the 
powers of evil, society had gradually climbed to a loftier intel- 
lectual eminence than that to which she had attained in any 
previous age. The time had at length arrived, when, far from 
the jarring scenes of Europe's strife, a nation was to come 
into existence, earnest in its love of human liberty, and 
vigorous in the execution of its purposes — a nation, which 
should accomplish some of the mightiest achievements of the 
human race ; and where, under the benign influences of its 
political institutions, and in the Lord's due time, the gospel 
should be again revealed and the Kingdom of God set up 
among the children of men. 

To rightly understand the history and character of an indi- 
vidual, we must know something of his parentage and the cir- 
cumstances of his early life. Hence to understand the character 
of the American people ; we must know something of their 
great national mother, the people of England. 

The defeat of the great Spanish armada delivered England 
from the control of continental Europe, and marked a critical 
epoch in her development. From that hour England's destiny 



124 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

was fixed. She was to be the great protestant power. Her 
sphere of action was to be upon the seas. She was to take a 
leading part in the new world of the west. The time was 
coming when her commerce should surpass all the nations of 
ancient or modern times ; but, above all, her language and 
literature were fast developing, by means of which her laws 
and influence would effect the remotest nations of the earth. 
Hitherto England had lagged behind in the intellectual develop- 
ment of Europe. In the single reign of Elizabeth she leaped 
to the first rank among the nations of the earth ; nay more, 
she was to become the mother of nations. An impression, 
vague and shadowy indeed, but none the less real, penetrated 
the minds of the English people, that they were to be the 
repository of the divine will, and the executor of His purposes 
— that the blessings and prerogatives of ancient Israel, were 
to be their inheritance. 

Beneath the rough exterior and blunt manners of that age, 
lay the new sense of a prophetic power — the sense of a divine 
commission. And who will say that they were wrong, or prove 
that they were not divinely commissioned to break down the 
barriers to human progress, and to some extent prepare society 
for the "dispensation of the fullness of times?" 

The English translation of the Bible, became the great rule 
of life. The whole moral effect which is now produced by the 
newspaper, the sermon, the lecture and the circulating library 
was then produced by the Bible alone ; and its effect on the 
national character was simply amazing. Religion was no longer 
confined to the cloister and cathedral, but became a subject of 
thought for every individual. The profound meditations that 
Shakspeare puts into the mouth of Hamlet were but a tran- 
script of the thoughts and feelings of the earnest men of that 
age, who saw themselves day by day in the theater of a mighty 
struggle between the powers of light and the powers of dark- 
ness — their souls the prize of an eternal conflict between heaven 
and hell. 

It was this phase of thought that gave to the world the 
sublime conceptions of Milton, the realistic dreams of Bunyan, 
as well as the stern and solemn character of Oliver Cromwell 
and his followers; and made these liberty-loving peasants more 



THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 125 

than a match for the chivalry and iron-clad knights of King 
Charles I. 

Nor was this feeling confined to any one class. It permeated 
all ranks and conditions, even to the sovereign. Tradition 
still points out the tree in Hatfield Park, beneath which 
Elizabeth was sitting when she received the news of her 
peaceful accession to the throne. She fell on her knees and 
exclaimed: "It is the Lord's doing, and marvelous in our 
eyes.'' To the end of her reign these words remained stamped 
on the golden coinage of the realm. Through all her long and 
eventful life, the feeling seems never to have left her, that her 
preservation and her reign were the issues of a direct inter- 
position of God. 

The foregoing may help us to understand the character of 
the English people at the time they commenced to plant the 
institntions of liberty on this coutinent. Who can read the 
thrilling narrative of English history during the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries without acknowledging the hand of God, 
in moulding the character of the British people ? 

It was not a pleasant world which the men and women of 
Europe had to live in during the sixteenth century. Fighting 
was the constant occupation of the kings of that time ; civil 
wars were also frequent. In these confused strifes men slew 
their acquaintances and friends as the only method they knew 
of deciding who was to fill the throne. Feeble commerce was 
crushed under the iron heel of war. Xo such thing as security 
for life and property was expeted. The fields of the husband- 
man were trodden down by the march of armies. Disbanded 
or deserted soldiers wandered as lawless men over the country 
and robbed and murdered at their will. Epidemic diseases of 
strange type, the result of insufficient and unwholesome food, 
and the poisonous air of undrained lands and filthy streets 
destroyed the inhabitants. Under what hardships and miseries 
the men of the sixteenth century passed their days, it is 
scarcely possible for us now to conceive. 

From the persecutions of the old world they fled to the wilds 
of the new. The thrilling story of their adventures, though 
indeed real, sounds more like romance than reality. Unlike 
the history of eastern nations, which frequently loses itself in 



126 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

mists of antiquity, the history of the American people begins 
at a comparatively recent date. It is less than four hundred 
years since Columbus and his companions first saw the western 
continent, and less than two hundred and seventy-five years 
since the first colony was planted in the territory which formed 
the thirteen original states. 

Another peculiarity is, that from the very first this land has 
been an asylum for the persecuted and oppressed of every 
nation. 

It was in the beautiful month of May, 1535, that Jacques 
Cartier, a bold navigator in the service of the king of France, 
sailed along the shores of the gulf of St. Lawrence, stopping 
here and there to examine the country and lay out plats for 
future settlements. In July he entered the river St. Law- 
rence and sailed on its broad waters, amidst picturesque scenery 
in which was realized all his glowing expectations and dreams. 
Leaving his vessel at the present site of Quebec, he proceeded 
up the river in a small boat, as far as the Indian settlement of 
Hochelaga. This place he named Mount Royal. It is now 
the magnificent city of Montreal. However, no permanent 
settlements were formed, and it was not till 1604 that De Monts, 
Champlain and other explorers began to colonize the country, 
on the banks of the gulf of St. Lawrence. Quebec was founded 
in 1608. The whole region on the south shore of the gulf was 
then called Acadia, Its history shows the wonderful influence 
kindness exerts, even among the savage tribes of North America. 
Poutrincourt, the governor of the colony, caused an immense 
banqueting hall to be erected, which was well supplied with 
deer, moose, bear and all kinds of wild fowl. He made friends 
of the Indians and entertained the chiefs at sumptuous feasts. 
In the Winter evenings by the blazing pine logs, Champlain 
would relate the stories of his wonderful adventures among 
the hills, and valleys, and lakes, and streams, and cataracts, 
and red men of the west. 

At length, by the fortunes of war, this colony was transferred 
to England ; but its heart was still with France. The English 
distrusted its loyalty, and sent an armed force to surprise and 
attack it, and carry away the once happy people, and scatter 
them throughout their American domains. The Acadians were 



EXTRACT FROM LONGFELLOW'S POEM. 127 

crowded into transports, their families were separated, their 
friendships and attachments broken up, and they were exiled 
among strangers, never to see each other again. The name of 
Acadia was blotted out. Most people are familiar with Long- 
fellow's beautiful story of Evangeline. It is now almost the 
only memorial that remains of the history of that colony. 

As a picture of peace and prosperity, contentment and neigh- 
borly love, worthy of imitation in this selfish age, a few lines 
from Longfellow's beautiful peom, may not be out of place: 

''There, in the midst of its farms reposed the Acadian village, 
Strongly built were the houses with frames of oak and of 

hemlock; 
There, in the tranquil evenings when sunset had faded to twilight, 
Softly the church-bell sounded calling the people to worship. 
Thus dwelt in love these simple Acadian farmers, 
Dwelt in the love of God and of man. Alike they were free from 
Fear that reigns with the tyrant, and envy the vice of republics, 
Neither locks had they to their doors nor bars to their windows, 
But their dwellings were open as day and the hearts of the 

owners; 
There the richest was poor, and the poorest lived in abundance. M 

Meanwhile attempts at colonizing were going on farther 
south. The settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, was founded 
in 1607. The adventures of Captain John Smith, the virtual 
founder of the colony, are well known to most readers, as well 
as the romantic story of Pocahontas, the Indian princess. Its 
early history is a narrative of strife and human suffering. 
Many of its early inhabitants were scions of nobility, men 
unused to toil; in some cases they were mere adventurers, 
actuated by a lust for gold or love of plunder. However, it 
teaches one important lesson, that noble birth and high-sound- 
ing titles are of little account when compared with the plain 
virtues of industry, honesty, and trust in God — that it is not 
men of wealth, but men of noble character that are of most 
importance in founding a commonwealth. 



1 28 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 



character, of the colonists— -they leave england — 
sojourn in holland— brewster's printing press- 
puritans embark for america— their trust in god 
— robinson's prophecy — Plymouth founded — suf- 
ferings OF THE COLONISTS— CONFLICT IN ENGLAND — 
PECULIARITIES OF THE PURITANS — HARVARD COLLEGE 
FOUNDED — EXTENT OF SETTLEMENTS— FIRST CONFEDERA- 
TION. 

"What constitutes a state? 
Not high-raised battlements or labored mound, 

Thick wall or moated gate ; 
Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned, 

Not bays and broad armed ports 
Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride; 

Not starred and spangled courts 
Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride; 

No ! Men, high-minded men, 
With powers as far above dull brutes endued, 

In forest, brake or den, 
As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude; 

Men, who their duties know, 
But know their rights ; and knowing dare maintain." 

THE mind instinctively turns to the colonizing of New Eng- 
land as one of the great landmarks of human history. A 
little more than two centuries ago this land was covered with 
forests in which roamed various tribes of Indians ; and the 
rivers, which now give life to so much cheerful industry, flowed 
uselessly to the sea. To-day this same land is covered with 
cities, towns and villages, gardens, vineyards and orchards, 
schools and palaces — a civilization surpassing, in some respects, 
that of any other country on the face of the globe. 

Whence came the men who wrought these mighty changes? 
What were the circumstances that led them to abandon their 



COLONISTS LEAVE ENGLAND. 129 

country and their kindred, and all the sacred associations that 
link man to his native land, to seek homes beyond the stormy 
Atlantic, in a wilderness then inhabited only by savage beasts, 
and men still more savage ; and above all, that trained them in 
the principles of self-government and fitted them to become 
the founders of a mighty empire? 

At that time protestant princes, no more than popish, were 
willing that their subjects should think for themselves. James 
I. had just ascended the English throne. His was the head of 
a fool and the heart of a tyrant. He was determined that 
every one of his subjects should observe the rites and cere- 
monies of the Episcopal church. On the northern border of 
Nottinghamshire stands the little town of Scrooby. Here were 
some brave and honest people, to whom the ceremonies of the 
Episcopal or Established church were an offense. They held 
their meetings in secret, at the house of one of their number, 
a gentleman named Brewster. They chose Mr. Robinson, 
a wise and good man, to be their leader in spiritual things. 
But their secret meetings were betrayed to the authorities 
and their lives were made bitter by the persecutions that 
fell upon them. They resolved to leave their own land and 
seek among strangers that freedom which was denied them at 
home. 

They embarked with all their goods for Holland. But when 
the ship was about to sail, soldiers came upon them, plundered 
them and drove them on shore. After some weeks in prison 
they were suffered to return home. Next Spring they tried 
again to escape. This time a good many were on board, and 
the others were waiting for the return of the boat, which would 
carry them to the ship. Suddenly soldiers on horseback were 
seen spurring across the sands. The shipmaster weighed his 
anchor and set sail with those whom he had on board. The 
soldiers conducted the remainder back to prison. After a time 
they were set at liberty. In little groups they made their way 
to Holland, and thus they accomplished the first stage of the 
tedious journey from the old England to the new. Here they 
remained for eleven years, and worked with patient industry 
at their various trades. They gained a reputation for honesty 
and skill in all their undertakings, and thus they found 



i30 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

abundant employment. Mr. Brewster established a printing 
press and printed books about liberty, which greatly enraged 
the foolish King James. Meanwhile this little band received 
additions from time to time, as oppression in England became 
more intolerable. Still they looked upon themselves as exiles. 
The language and manners of the Dutch were not pleasing to 
them. They did not wish to lose their identity. Already their 
sons and daughters were forming alliances that threatened this 
result. They therefore determined to go again on a pilgrimage, 
and seek a home in the wilds of America ; where they could 
dwell apart and found a state, where all should enjoy civil and 
religious liberty. 

They collected their little funds and procured two vessels, the 
Speedwell, of sixty tons, and the Mayflower \ of one hundred 
and eighty. The Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and 
was abandoned. They had not sufficient funds for all to come 
at once. Brewster was placed in command of the company, 
which was composed of ' ' such of the youngest and strongest, 
as freely offered themselves/' A solemn fast was held. "Let 
us seek God, ' ' said they, ' ' a right way for us, and for our little 
ones, and for all our substance. ' ' 

On a sunny morning in July, 1620, the pilgrims knelt upon 
the seashore at Delfthaven, while their pastor, Mr. Robinson, 
prayed for the success of their journey. Out upon the 
gleaming sea a little ship lay waiting. Money was wanting 
and so only one hundred could depart. They left the remainder 
with tears and fond farewells, to follow when they could. Mr. 
Robinson dismissed them with counsels which breathed a pure 
and high-toned wisdom. Some of the words which he then 
uttered, seemed to have a prophetic import. This will be read- 
ily seen from the following extract : 

"The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His 
holy word. Luther and Calvin were great and shining lights 
in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel 
of God. I beseech of you, remember it, that you be ready to 
receive whatever truth shall be made known to you. ' ' 

Who will attempt to deny that God, through him, spake 
words pregnant with a meaning that men at that age did not 
understand ? 



LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS, 131 

A prosperous wind soon wafted them across the North sea 
and they sighted the coast of England. After considerable 
delay at Southampton, Dartmouth, and Plymouth, the May- 
flower started early in September on her long and lonely voy- 
age from the old world to the new. After a boisterous voyage 
of sixty-three days they espied land, and in two days more 
cast anchor in the harbor of Cape Cod. 

How truthful the lines, 

u The heavy clouds hung dark 

The woods and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 

On the wild New England shore!" 

It was a bleak-looking and discouraging coast which lay 
before them. Nothing met the eye but low sand-hills, covered 
with stunted trees down to the margin of the sea. At first 
no suitable locality for a settlement could be found ; but at 
length they selected a spot where the soil appeared to be good, 
with "delicate springs of water." On December 22, 1620, the 
pilgrims landed — stepping ashore upon a huge bowlder of 
granite, which is still preserved as a memorial of that event. 
The cold was so excessive that the spray froze upon their 
clothes till they resembled men cased in armor. They had 
been badly fed on board the ship, which, together with 
exposure, caused sickness to prevail among them. Every 
second day a grave had to be dug in the frozen ground. The 
care of the sick and the burying of the dead, sadly hindered their 
work ; but the building of their little town went on. When 
Spring arrived there were only fifty survivors, and these were 
sadly enfeebled and dispirited. Upon an eminence beside 
their town they erected a structure which served a double pur- 
pose. The upper story was used for a fort, in which were 
placed six small cannon. The lower story served for a meet- 
ing-house and school-house. 

The pilgrims had already drawn up and signed in the cabin 
of the Mayflower, a document forming themselves into an 
organized government, to which they unanimously promised 
obedience. Under this constitution they elected John Carver 
to be their first governor. It is true they acknowledged King * 
James, but they left *no very large place for his authority. 



CONFLICT IN ENGLAND. 133 

They had experienced what despotisunwas, and they deter- 
mined from the first to be a self-governing people. In 
memory of the hospitalities which they had received at the 
last English port from which they had sailed, this colony took 
the name of Plymouth. 

The years which followed the settlement of Plymouth was 
a time through which good men found it bitter to live. 
Charles I., was upon the throne of England. William Laud, 
archbishop of Canterbury, was the king's right-hand man for 
dealing out persecution. Whoever refused to perform the 
religious ceremonies commanded by Laud was forthwith 
imprisoned. A Scotch clergyman named Leighton, was 
publicly whipped, branded on the cheek, had one of his ears 
cut otf and his nostrils slit, for calling Laud's ceremonies the 
inventions of men. Many others were treated in a similar 
manner. Meanwhile John Hampden, the incorruptible 
patriot, was arrested for not paying an unlawful tax. A 
greater than he — his cousin, Oliver Cromwell — was leading his 
quiet, rural life at Huntington, not without many anxious and 
indignant thoughts about the evils of his time. He walked 
over his fields and along the streams, 

'"Pondering the solemn miracle of life 
As one who, wandering in a starless night, 
Feels momently the jar of unseen waves, 
And hears the thunder of an unknown sea 
Breaking along an unimaginecl shore. 
And as he walked he prayed." 

The weary victims of this senseless persecution looked to 
Xew England for refuge. The pilgrims wrote to their friends 
at home ; and every letter was read with interest. They had 
hardships to tell of at first; then they had prosperity and 
comfort : always they had liberty! Every Summer a few ships 
were freighted for the settlements. At one time eight ships 
lay in the Thames, with their passengers on board, when the 
order was issued, that no one should leave without the king's 
permission. The soldiers cleared the ships, and the poor 
emigrants were driven back in despair to endure the miseries 
from which they were so eager to escape. Among these were 
Hampden and Cromwell. Well would it have been for the 



134 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

king if he had let them go! But God had a work for them 
to do. They were to be the instruments in His hand 
"To hurl down wrong from its high seat, 
To the poor and oppressed, firm friends and true." 

The details of the long war between the king and the people 
we need not here relate. The result was the death of the 
unhappy monarch, and another step forward by the British 
people in the principles of self-government. 

Meanwhile the settlements in America continued to nourish, 
The virgin soil yielded abundant harvests. From the fleece 
of their sheep, and the flax of their fields they made a supply 
of clothing. They felled the timber of their boundless forests, 
and built ships and sent away to foreign countries, the timber, 
the fish and the furs which were not required at home. 

They were a noble people who had thus begun to strike their 
roots in the great forests of the west. 

Their peculiarities may indeed amuse us ; as for example the 
strange names they gave their children. Many of the boys bore 
names in memory of some fortunate circumstance, or historical 
event, as "Rejoice in the Lord," "Pillar of Fire, " "Strength 
of Israel," "Praise God Barebones," etc. ; while the girls 
rejoiced in such names as ' 'Truth, ' ' 4 'Temperance, ' ' ' 'Patience, ' ' 
"Chastity," and "Love the Lord." 

We may smile at these things ; yet the most wise of all ages 
will admire the purity and earnestness of this people. They 
brought with them the love of learning. In a very few years 
schools began to appear. Such means as could be afforded 
were freely given. Some tolerably qualified brother was 
' 'entreated to become the schoolmaster. ' ' Soon a law was 
passed that every township, containing fifty families, must 
have a common school. Harvard College was established 
within fifteen years of the landing. The founders of New 
England were men who had known at home the value of 
books. Brewster carried with him a library of two hundred 
and seventy-five volumes, and his was not the largest collection 
in the colony. At that time books were very scarce and 
twenty times more costly than they are now. 

Twenty-three years after the landing of the pilgrims, the 
population of New England had grown to twenty-four thou- 



THE FIRST CONFEDERATION. 135 

sand. Forty-nine little wooden towns, with their wooden 
churches, wooden forts and wooden ramparts, were dotted 
here and there over the land. There were then four separate 
colonies: Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New 
Haven. For mutual defense and protection these colonies 
united together and thus formed the first confederation of 
states on the western continent. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE CONFLICT IN THE NETHERLANDS. 



DESCRIPTION OF HOLLAND — A LAND OF REFCJGE — TYRANNY 
OF ALVA — THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE— SIEGE 
OF LEYDEN — THE COUNTRY SUBMERGED — FAMINE IN THE 
CITY — SPEECH OF THE MAYOR — HEROIC CONDUCT — TRUST 
IN GOD— STORM RAISES THE WATERS — SPANIARDS 
RETREAT— LEYDEN IS SAVED— THANKSGIVING — WATERS 
RETIRE. 

IN a previous chapter have been described the circumstances 
which led to the colonization of Acadia and New Eng- 
land. 

While these events were transpiring in old England and 
New England, others of scarcely less importance were occurring 
in Holland, or the Netherlands, as it is frequently called, and 
in its colony of New Netherlands. It is a fact too frequently 
forgotten, that at least three of the thirteen original states 
were colonized by Holland. It is true Pennsylvania and Dela- 
ware received a few colonists from Sweden and Finland, who 
had settled there to escape religious persecution ; but their 
dominions in the new world were not of long duration. To 
Holland and England belong the chief glory of colonizing the v 
lands embraced in the United Colonies of 1776. The country 
now embraced in the states of New York, New Jersey and 



136 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

Delaware, received the name of New Netherlands, and like the 
inhabitants of New England, they were for the most part a 
religious people. 

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Holland had 
been the refuge of exiles from many lands. When John Huss 
and Jerome of Prague fell under papal vengeance, many of 
their followers there found a home. When the fury of perse- 
cution was raging against the Waldenses, many of them fled 
to Holland for protection. After the terrible massacre of the 
French protestants or Huguenots, as they were called, in 1572, 
many of them took refuge in the Netherlands. This liberty- 
loving population was the cause of that deadly hatred mani- 
fested toward them by the Duke of Alva. This insatiate 
monster, during his brief administration, caused more than 
eighteen thousand persons to perish by the hand of the execu- 
tioner. His cruelties at length aroused the" indignation of the 
people, and brought about those notable events so well described 
by the historian, Motley, in his Rise of the Dutch Republic. 
This contest was one of the most memorable in the history of 
the human race, for in it was clearly shown the wonderful pro- 
vidence of God. 

Holland, as is well known, is a low, flat country, so low, in 
fact, that the inhabitants have been obliged to build dj^kes, or 
embankments of earth, along the coast, in order to protect the 
country from the waters of the ocean during high tides and 
storms. Were it not for this precaution, Holland would fre- 
quently present the appearance of a vast, shallow bay or lake, 
thickly studded with orchards dwellings and cities half sub- 
merged in the water. 

At this time Holland was under the dominion of Spain. The 
tyranny of Alva, the governor, provoked the people to resist- 
ance, and King; Philip sent an army from Spain to enforce 
submission. Rather than longer endure this oppression, 
the brave Hollanders resolved to achieve their independence or 
perish in the attempt. The fortifications of their country were 
few, but, in one respect, they held the keys of the ocean. They 
opened the flood-gates of the dykes and prepared to submerge 
the country when the first storm should come. Meanwhile 
the Spaniards were besieging Leyden, and if that city fell, the 



SIEGE OF LEYDEN. 137 

conquest of the country would inevitably follow. The Hol- 
landers well knew that the ocean would damage their fields 
and destroy their growing crops, but they preferred the chances 
of starvation to an indiscriminate massacre. 

Leyden was situated twenty miles inland. It was impossible 
to bring Leyden to the ocean They prayed that God would aid 
their efforts to bring the ocean to Leyden. Meantime the 
besieged city was at its last gasp. At the dawn of each day 
the brave defenders turned their eyes toward the vanes of the 
church steeples, that they might ascertain the direction of the 
wind. So long as an easterly wind prevailed, they felt that 
they must look in vain for the welcome ocean. Yet, while thus 
patiently waiting, they were literally starving. Such was the 
condition of Leyden on the 11th of September, 1574. The 
commander of the Dutch fleet, Admiral Boisot, had constructed 
a number of flat boats, by which he hoped to be able to bring 
provisions and munitions of war to the besieged city. But a week 
elapsed after the opening of the dykes, and no storm nor high 
tide had come to force the ocean inland. The flotilla of boats 
now lay motionless in shallow water, having accomplished less 
than two miles. Everything wore a gloomy aspect; still the 
hearts of the patriots were lifted to God in prayer. On the 
18th the wind shifted to the north-west, and for three days 
blew a gale. The waters rose rapidly, and before the second 
was closed, the flat boats were again afloat. Onward the boats 
flew before the breeze, and soon arrived at the villages of Zoe- 
termeer and Benthuyzen. A strong force of Spaniards were 
stationed at each place, but they were astonished to see these 
brave and liberty-loving men, sailing on a sea, where a few hours 
before, was dry and solid land. Some of their officers even 
asked in amazement, "was it true that God and the elements 
were going to fight against them?" Few things are more 
appalling to the imagination than the rising ocean tide, when 
man feels himself within its power. The Spanish soldiers saw 
the waters deepening and closing around them, and, as it were, 
devouring the earth beneath their feet, while on the waves rode 
a flotilla, manned by a liberty-loving and determined race, 
whose courage was known throughout the world. No wonder 
the Spaniards were seized with a panic and fled precipitately. 



138 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

Behind them came the roaring tide; and thousands sank 
beneath the deepening flood. In a few hours the flotilla had 
arrived at North Aa, from whence Admiral Boiset sent, on 
September 28th, a carrier pigeon with a letter of encourage- 
ment to the famished inhabitants of Leyden. 

As time passed on, the mortality in the city became fright- 
ful. Mothers dropped dead in the streets with their dead 
children in their arms. A terrible plague, engendered by hard- 
ships and famine, was sweeping away the people like grass 
before the the scythe. From six to eight thousand human 
beings sank before this scourge alone, yet the people resolutely 
held out — women and men mutually encouraging each other 
to resist the entrance of the foreign foe — an evil more horrible 
than pest or famine. The heroism of the Hollanders towered 
to sublimity. True a few of the faint-hearted ene day assailed 
the mayor of Leyden, the heroic Adrian Yan der Werf, with 
threats and reproaches as he passed through the streets. He 
stepped to one side and mounted the steps of the church of 
St. Pancras. There he stood, a tall, haggard, imposing figure, 
with dark visage, and a tranquil, but commanding eye. He 
waved his broad-brimmed hat for silence, and then exclaimed : 
"What would ye, my friends? Why do ye murmur that we do 
not break our vows and surrender the city to the Spaniards ? 
— a fate more horrible than the agony which she now endures. 
1 tell you, I have made an oath to hold the city, and may God 
give me strength to keep my oath ! I can die but once ; whether 
by your hands, the enemy's, or by the hand of God. My own 
fate is indifferent to me, not so that of the city entrusted to my 
care. I know that we shall starve if not soon relieved ; but 
starvation is preferable to the dishonored death which is our 
only alternative. Your menaces move me not ; my life is at 
your disposal, here is my sword, plunge it into my breast, and 
divide my flesh among you. Take my body to appease your 
hunger, but expect no surrender, so long as I remain 
alive." 

The words of the firm, old mayor, inspired a new courage in 
the hearts of those who heard him, and a shout of applause 
and defiance arose from the famishing, but enthusiastic crowd. 
After exchanging new vows of fidelity with their magistrate. 



WATERS RAISED BY A STORM. 139 

they left the place and again ascended tower and battlement to 
watch for the coming fleet. 

From the ramparts they hurled renewed defiance at the 
enemy. **Ye call us rat-eaters and dog-eaters,"' they cried, 
"and it is true. So long then, as ye hear dog bark, or cat mew. 
within the walls of the city, ye may know that it still holds 
out. And when all has perished but ourselves, be sure that we 
will each devour our left arms, retaining our right to defend 
our women, our liberty and our religion, against the foreign 
tyrant. Should God, in His providence, deny us all relief, 
even then will we maintain ourselves against your entrance. 
When the last hour has come, with our own hands we will set 
fire to the city and perish, men, women and children, together 
in the flames, rather than suffer our homes to be polluted and 
our liberties to be crushed.'' 

The Spaniards shouted back derisively: u As well can the 
prince of Orange pluck down the stars from the sky as bring 
the ocean to the walls of Leyden for your relief." But they 
had forgotten that ''prayer moves the arm that moves the 
world:"' that He, whom the winds and seas obey, 
and who holds the tempests as in the hollow of his hand, 
had heard the cry of that patient and persecuted people, 
and was sending the darkness and the storm, to sweep away 
their enemies as with the besom of destruction. 

When the stoutest hearts began to fail, the tempest came 
again to their relief. A violent gale, on the night of the 1st 
of October, came storming from the north-west, shifting after 
a few hours, and then blowing still more violently from the south- 
west. The waters of the North sea were piled in vast masses 
upon the southern coast, and then dashed furiously land-ward. 
The waters rose higher than ever before known, and swept 
with unobstructed fury across the ruined dykes. The fleet of 
flat-boats at North Aa, was no longer stranded. At midnight, 
amidst the storm and darkness, Admiral Boisot gave orders to 
advance. A few sentinels challenged them as they swept by 
the village of Zoeterwoude. The answer was a flash from 
Boisot 's cannon, lighting the dark, wild waste of waters. 
Then came a fierce naval midnight battle. It was a strange 
spectacle among the branches of those quiet orchards and 



140 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

chimney stacks of half submerged farm-houses. Swiftly the 
fleet sailed on over the waters between Zoeterwoude and 
Zwieten. As they approached shallows the sailors dashed into 
the sea and literally shouldered the vessels through. These 
forts and that of Lammen might have proved serious obstacles, 
had not the panic, which had hitherto driven their foes before 
the advancing patriots, come again to their relief. 

A long procession of lights was seen to flit across the black 
face of the waters, in the dead of night. The Spaniards had 
fled precipitately along a road which led in a westerly direction 
toward the Hague. Their narrow path was rapidly vanishing 
in the waves, and hundreds sank in the constantly deepening 
flood, to rise no more. 

The morning dawned, but all was calm and still around the 
city of Leyden. The hand of God which had sent the ocean 
and the tempest for her deliverance, had likewise struck her 
enemies with terror. The lights which had been seen during 
the night, were lanterns of the retreating Spaniards. The suc- 
coring fleet sailed victoriously into the city on the morning of 
the 3rd of October, 1574. Bread was freely given to the poor 
creatures, who for months had tasted no wholesome human 
food. When the admiral stepped on shore a procession was 
formed consisting of citizens, sailors, soldiers, women and 
children. They repaired to the great cathedral ; and they who 
had been firm in their resistance to an earthly tyrant, now 
bowed in humble gratitute before the King of kings. After 
prayers the whole, vast congregation, joined in the thanks- 
giving hymn. Thousands of voices raised the song, but few 
were able to carry it to its conclusion, for the universal emotion, 
deepened by the music, became too full for utterance. The 
hymn was abruptly suspended while the multitude wept like 
children. 

"On the following day, the 4th of October, the wind shifted 
to the north-east, and again blew a tempest. It was as if the 
waters, having now done their work, had been rolled back to 
the ocean by an Omnipotent hand, for in the course of a few 
days the land was bare again, and the work of reconstructing 
the dykes commenced." 



RESULT OF THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBER] 141 

From this terrible ordeal came out many illustrious charac- 
ters. Its results tended to civil and religious liberty, as well as 
the great principle of federal union which has since been 
carried out to such a wonderful extent. These principles the 
Dutch emigrants brought with them ; and when a few years 
afterwards their settlements fell into the hands of the English 
they were already assimilated to the ideas prevailing in the New 
England colonies. 



CHAPTER XV, 



EARLY COLONIAL HISTORY. 



RISE OF QUAKERISM — GHSORGE POX — WILLIAM PENN — FOUNDS 
PENNSYLVANIA— KINDNESS TO THE INDIANS — PHILA- 
DELPHIA FOUNDED— MARYLAND. CAROLINA AND 
GEORGIA SETTLED— ROGER WILLIAMS — RHODE ISLAND 
FOUNDED — ITS TOLERATION. 

THE history of Pennsylvania as a distinct colony began in 
Its founder. William Penn, was the son of 
Admiral Penn. who had gained many victories for England 
and enjoyed the favor of the king, as well as of the great 
statesmen of his time. At this time there was in England a 
numerous sect called Quakers. Some of their principles were 
true, and most of them were far in advance of the opinions 
generally entertained in that age. 

The rise of the people called Quakers is one of the memor- 
ents in the history of man. It marks the moment 
when intellectual freedom was claimed by the people as an 
inalienable right. The sect had its birth in a period of intense 
national activity, when zeal for reform was invading all ranks 
of society, and even subverting the throne. Its creed was 
summed up in one short phrase, "The inner light or voice of 
God in the so "I" Their leader, George Fox. professed to 



142 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



have visions from heaven. Having listened to the revelation 
which had been made to his soul, he thirsted for a reform in 
every branch of learning. The physician and the scientist 
should quit their strife of unintelligible words and solve the 
appearances of nature by an intimate study of the laws of 



=~ (bU^^^a^r 




being. The lawyers should abandon their deceit and seek to 
establish justice among men according to the teachings of the 
Savior. And the priests should cease to preach for hire, and 
seek God in prayer as the oracle of all truth. 



GEORGE FOX, 143 

No wonder there was a great commotion. In Lancaster, 
Forty priests appeared against him at once. Nothing could 
daunt his enthusiasm. When cast into jail among felons, he 
claimed of the public tribunals a release, only to continue his 
exertions. If cruelly beaten, or set in the stocks, or ridiculed 
as mad, he none the less proclaimed the principles of his 
faith. When driven from the church, he preached in the 
open air; when refused shelter at a private dwelling or hum- 
ble tavern, he slept without fear under a haystack. 

His fame increased ; crowds gathered like flocks of pigeons 
to hear him. His voice and frame in prayer are described as 
the most awful and reverent ever felt or seen. His clear con- 
victions and glowing thoughts delivered in plain words made 
him powerful among the masses and the terror of the priests 
in public discussions to which he defied the world. By 
degrees "the hypocrites," as the historian Barclay called 
them, feared to dispute with him. The simplicity of the 
truth he uttered and the plainness of his speech found such 
ready acceptance among the people, "that the priests trembled 
and scud as he drew near, so that it was a dreadful thing to 
them when it was told them, 'The man in leathern breeches 
is come. ' ' ' 

Far from rejecting Christianity, the Quakers insisted that 
they alone followed its primitive simplicity. They believed in 
the unity of truth ; that there can be no contradiction between 
correct reason and revelation ; and that the Holy Spirit is the 
guide that leads into all truth. The Quakers read the Bible 
not with idolatry but with delight, for in there own souls they 
had a testimony that it was true. "The scriptures," says Bar- 
clay, ' 'are not religion but a record of it ; a declaration of the 
fountain, but not the fountain itself." In reading a record 
of those times it might appear to one that God was then ready 
to restore His Priesthood and set up His kingdom on the 
earth. But mankind were not yet ready nor was there a fit 
place in all the inhabited countries of the world for its estab- 
lishment. 

The well-known William Penn joined this sect, and by this 
act greatly provoked his father's displeasure. Like Moses of 
old he refused the favors and honors of the monarch, choosing 



144 



THE flAND OP PROVIDENCE. 




WILLTAM PENN. 145 

rather to obey what he considered to be the truth than to 
enjoy all the pomp and pleasures of the world. Space will not 
permit us to relate the story of his sufferings while an exile 
from his father's home; how he traveled to and fro on the 
continent of Europe, from the Weser to the Main, from the 
Rhine to the Danube, distributing tracts, preaching to princes 
and to peasants, and rebuking every attempt to enthrall the 
mind of man. Before he had reached the age of twenty-five, 
he had thrice suffered unjust imprisonment. To the king's 
messenger, who asked him to recant, he heroically replied, 
" Club-law may make hypocrites, it never can make converts" 
Single handed and alone he plead his cause before the high- 
est courts of England. In vain did wicked men endeavor to 
construe the laws of England to his injury. After a tedious 
trial he was at length acquitted, though the jurymen were 
fined forty marks apiece for not bringing in a verdict of guilty. 
His constancy called forth the admiration of his father. "Son 
William," said the dying admiral, "if you and your friends 
keep to your plain way of preaching and living, you will make 
an end of the priests/' 

At the admiral's death, William succeeded to his father's 
possessions. It deeply grieved him that his Quaker brethren 
should endure such wrongs as were continually heaped upon 
them. He, therefore, formed the design of leading them forth 
to America. The king had owed Penn's father sixteen thou- 
sand pounds, nearly equal to eighty thousand dollars of our 
money. Penn offered to relinquish this claim for a grant of 
land ; and the king readily bestowed upon him a vast region, 
stretching west from the river Delaware, to which was given 
the name of Pennsylvania. Here Penn proposed to found a 
state, free and self-governing. He claimed it to be his highest 
ambition "to make men as free and happy as they can be. " 
When he arrived, he proclaimed to the people that he wished 
them to be governed by laws of their own making. He was 
as good as his word. The people elected their own representa- 
tives by whom a constitution was framed, and Penn signed this 
charter of their liberties. 

Penn also dealt justly and kindly with the Indians, and they 
showed a love for him such as they bestowed on no other Eng- 

6* 



146 fHE HANI) OV JPROVlDEKCfe. 

lishman. Soon after his arrival, he invited the chief men of 
the Indian tribes to a conference. The meeting took place 
beneath a huge elm-tree. The ancient forest had long given 
way tj the houses and streets of Philadelphia; but a monu- 
ment still points out to the stranger the scene of this inter- 
view They met, Penn assured them, "on the broad pathway 
of good faith and good will. All was to be openness and love." 
And Penn meant what he said. Strong in the power of truth 
and kindness, he bent the fierce savages of the Delaware tribe 
to his will. They vowed to live in love with William Penn and 
his children as long as the moon and the sun should endure. 
Long years after, aged Indians were accustomed to come from 
the distant forests and recount with deep emotion the words 
that Penn had spoken to them under the old elm-tree. 

The fame of Penn's settlements went abroad in all lands. 
An asylum was opened for the good and oppressed of every 
nation. Grave and God-fearing men from all the Protestant 
countries of Europe sought a home where they might live as 
conscience taught them. 

"For here the exiles met from every clime, 

And spoke in friendship every distant tongue; 

Men, from the blood of warring Europe sprung, 
Were but divided by the running brook ; 

And happy where no Khenish trumpet sung, 
The blue-eyed German changed his sword to 
pruning-hook." 
The new colony grew apace. During the first year twenty- 
two vessels arrived, bringing two thousand persons. In 
three years Philadelphia was a town of six hundred houses. 
Thus did Penn prove himself a benefactor to his race. May 
we not also consider him an instrument in the hands of God 
for the execution of His purposes? 

Meanwhile Maryland had been colonized by Catholics under 
Lord Baltimore, in 1634. The first colonists were exiles who 
fled here to escape persecution in their native land. Let it 
also be said to their credit that they were the first who 
embodied in their laws complete religious toleration. 

A few scattering colonists had settled within the boundaries 
of the Carolinas as early as 1653, and these colonies also became 
a refuge for the Huguenots of France. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 147 

Lastly Georgia was colonized, in 1732, by the English phil- 
anthropist James Oglethorpe ; and it also became an asylum 
and a refuge for the deserving poor. 

Had these states been colonized immediately after the 
discovery of America, they must inevitably have brought 
with them the institutions of Catholic Europe. Such, for 
example, as still characterize the civilization of Mexico. Even 
had they been colonized a century earlier, the colonists would 
not have been disciplined sufficiently in the principles of civil 
liberty to have built up free and self-governing states. 

Who does not see a divine providence — a marvelous wisdom 
in all this ? 

Though the pilgrims had left their native lands, that they 
might enjoy the liberty to worship God in the way which they 
deemed right ; yet they had not discovered that people who 
differed from them were as well entitled to be tolerated as 
they themselves were. Simple as it seems there are many to 
this day who have not found out that every one is entitled to 
think for himself. 

One day there stepped ashore at Boston, a young man 
named Roger Williams. He was a man of culture and refine- 
ment, a lover of truth and justice, a man of rare virtue and 
power. He had been an intimate friend of Cromwell and 
Milton, in the bright days of the poet's youth. Williams 
brought to America what was then considered strange opinions. 
Long thought had satisfied him that "in regard to religious 
belief and worship man is responsible to God alone. ' ' 

New England society was not sufficiently advanced to receive 
such sentiments. Williams had become minister at Salem where 
he was held in high esteem. In time his opinions drew upon 
him the unfavorable notice of the authorities; and he was 
brought to trial before the general court of Massachusetts. 
His townsmen and congregation deserted him. His poor wife 
reproached him bitterly for the evil he was bringing on his 
family. Still he was firm and continued to testify against the 
soul-oppression he saw around him. At length the court 
declared him guilty and pronounced against him the sentence 
of banishment. All honor to this brave and good man ! He, 
of all the men of his time, saw most clearly the beauty of 



148 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

absolute freedom in matters of conscience. He cheerfully left 
his home and wandered in the wilderness. During the part 
of one winter he lived with Massasoit, the Indian chief, who 
befriended him and gave him a grant of land, now included in 
the state of Rhode Island. Here he laid out a city which he 
called Providence, in grateful recognition of the power which 
had guided his steps. To-day it is one of the most beautiful 
and thrifty cities in the United States. 

Roger Williams cherished a very forgiving spirit towards 
those who sent him into exile. Learning that the Indians 
were planning the destruction of the Massachusetts colony, he 
boldly went among the Indians and dissuaded them from their 
purpose. Thus did this good man put his life in peril for his 
enemies. 

Providence Plantation, as it was called, became a shelter for 
all who were distressed for conscience sake ; and so it has con- 
tinued to the present time. Rhode Island has no record of 
persecution in her history. Massachusetts continued to drive 
out misbelievers. Rhode Island took them in. When Massa- 
chusetts was convulsed with supposed witchcraft and the 
horrors of witch-burning, Rhode Island gave no heed to such 
delusions. ' In after years, Roger Williams became the presi- 
dent of the colony which he had founded. 

The neighboring states were at that time severely punishing 
the Quakers with the lash, branding-iron and imprisonment ; 
and they invited Rhode Island to join in the persecution. Mr. 
Williams replied that he ' 'had no law to punish any man for 
his belief." He was opposed to the doctrines of the Quakers. 
In his seventy-third year he rowed thirty miles in an open boat 
to wage a public debate against them. In this manner, and 
this only, would he resist the progress of opinions which he 
deemed pernicious. Thus to the end of his life stood forth 
this good man's loyality to the absolute liberty of the human 
conscience. From the foregoing, we may get some idea of the 
moral and social condition of England and her colonies during 
the latter part of the seventeenth century. 



EDITION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY. 149 



CHAPTER XVI. 



MODERN ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES. 



CONDITION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY— MANUFACTURE OF GIN 

AND RUM— ORIGIN OF METHODISM— ELOQUENCE OF 
WHITFIELD— JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY — REMARK- 
ABLE TEACHINGS— ROBERT RAIKES — JOHN HOWARD- 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE— MECHANICAL INVENTIONS- 
GROWTH OF AMERICAN FREEDOM— THREE GREAT BAT- 
TLES— COOK'S VOYAGES — EXTENSION OF THE ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE— GREATNESS OF PITT— WASHINGTON'S EARLY 
LIFE— BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

r estward the course of empire takes iU way." 

FROM the first settling of the North American colonies, 
the relations between Europe and America were such that 
even' great revolution occurring in the parent country had its 
due effect in the colonies. 

In 1688, just sixty-eight years after the sailing of the pil- 
grims, another famous departure took place from the coast of 
Holland. It was that of William, prince of Orange, coming 
to deliver England from tyranny, and give a new course to 
English history. A powerful fleet and army sailed with the 
prince, the wicked and foolish King James fled from the 
people he had so long misruled, and William, prince of 
Orange, with Mary his wife, were proclaimed joint king and 
queen of England. 

With the revolution of 1688, a new spirit appears in Eng- 
land. Hitherto English philosophy and literature were almost 
unknown upon the continent. It was only after the revolution 
that we hear of foreigners visiting England, learning English 
and seeking to understand English life and character. Thus 
on the eve of the eighteenth century English idea- took a 



150 ^HE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

great stride forward. The people instead of the king became 
the virtual rulers of the nation. 

The preceding age had done its work. It had given to the 
world the philosophy of Newton, the literature of Shakspeare, 
and Addison, Pope and Swift, the political agitation of Crom- 
well, and the colonization of America. The avenues of know- 
ledge were thus opened to the masses. Even the dullest and 
most backward minds began to have notions of literature and 
the discoveries of science The ancient forms of royalty and 
chivalry had lost their prestige and stood in the shady back- 
ground of the past. A new world of citizens henceforth 
occupies the ground, attracts the gaze, imposes its ideas on 
the public manners and stamps its image on the minds of men. 
In 1709 appeared the first newspaper, a sheet as big as a man's 
hand which the editor did not know how to fill. At the present 
time there are more than 1,000,000,000 copies of newspapers 
published in the English language annually, many of which 
contain more reading matter in a single number than the whole 
New Testament scriptures. With the increase of intelligence 
the power of the people began to be felt. 

Increased intelligence brought political reforms, and these 
in turn were followed by a reform in morals and manners. 
During the reign of the Stuarts the morals of the people had 
been extremely low. As an illustration might be mentioned 
the disrespect shown to the clergy. A parish priest was only 
permitted to dine at the second table, after his superiors (?) 
had been served. He might fill himself with the beef and 
cabbage, but did not dare to touch the better dishes until 
invited to do so by the hostess. A law had been passed 
during the reign of Charles II. , that no clergyman should 
many a servant-girl without the consent of her mistress. 
Most of the prominent statesmen during the previous half 
century were unbelievers in any form of religion. Such were 
the irreligious tendencies of the age, that drunkenness and foul 
talk were considered no reproach to Robert Walpole, prime 
minister of England. Purity of life was sneered at by the 
nobility as "out of fashion." For example, Lord Chesterfield, 
in his letters to his son (which were designed for publication), 



£1. vYHITFIELD. 151 

instructs him in the art of seduction, as part of a polite 
education. 

At the lower end of the social scale lay the masses of the 
extremely poor. They were ignorant and brutal to a degree 
which it is Lard to conceive. The manufacture of gin and 
rum had been discovered in 3 oS-t : and intemperance overran 
the nation as a plague. Tavern-keepers, on their sign-boards, 
invited the people to come and get drunk for a penny. For 
two pence they might get dead drunk, and have "a place to lie 
down with no charge for straw. ' ' Much of this social degra- 
dation was due. without doubt, to the apathy and sloth of the 
religious teachers. 

i was the condition of society when a remarkable 
religious revival began in a small knot of Oxford students. 
who.se revolt against the wickedness of the times expressed 
itself in enthusiastic religious worship and an austere and 
methodical resularity of life, that gave them the nickname of 
"Methodists 

:hese students, three soon attracted special attention 
by their religious fervor and even extravagance. One of these. 
Whitfield, became the greatest orator. His voice was 
D heard in the wildest and most barbarous corners of the 
land, among the bleak moors of Northumberland, in the dens 
of London, and in the dark and gloomy mines of Cornwall. 
Whitfield's preaching was such as England had never heard 
before, theatrical, extavagant. sometimes common-place, but 
winning favor by its earnestness and deep tremulous sympathy 
for the sins and sorrows of mankind. 

He was no common enthusiast who could so eloquently plead 
the cause of the erring and unfortunate as to draw out the last 
cent from tht cool and calculating Franklin, and command 
admiration from the fastidious and skeptical Horace Walpole : 
or who could look down, from the top of a green knoll at 
King-wood, on twenty thousand colliers, grimy from the Bristol 
coal-pits, and see as he preached, the tears making white 
channels down their blackened cheeks. 

On the rough and ignorant masses to whom they spoke, the 

effects of Whitfield and his co-workers were mighty both for 

I and ill. Their preaching stirred a passionate hatred in 



152 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

the hearts of their opponents. Their lives were often in 
danger; they were mobbed, ducked, stoned and smothered 
with filth; but the enthusiasm they aroused among their fol- 
lowers was equally intense. 

Very important to the cause was Charles Wesley, a student 
at Oxford, who came as the sweet singer of the movement. 
His hymns expressed the fiery zeal of its converts, in lines so 
chaste and beautiful that many of the cultured classes were 
numbered among the adherents of the movement. 

But most important of all was the elder brother, John 
Wesley, an ordained minister of the Church of England, who 
by his learning, energy and power of organization gave stab- 
ility to the movement. No man of that age surpassed him in 
self-denial and trust in God. With all his extravagance and 
superstition, Wesley's mind was essentially practical and 
orderly. He, beyond most men of his age, saw that he lacked 
divine authority to found a church. Hence to the last he 
clung passionately to the Church of England, and looked upon 
the sect he had formed as only a lay society or branch in full 
communication with the parent church. 

For a long time he would not permit his co-workers to 
administer the sacrament of the Lords supper; as he con- 
sidered they did not possess the requisite authority. Wesley 
saw with wonderful clearness a fact that no one of that age 
perceived or, if he did, had not the moral courage to declare. 
He perceived the universal as well as the total apostasy of the 
so-called Christian church. In his 94th sermon he says; "The 
real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were 
no longer to be found in the Christian church was became the 
Christians were turned heathens again, and had only a dead 
form lefty In another place he says: "A string of opinions 
is no more Christian faith, than a string of beads is Christian 
holiness." The justifiying faith which he considered so essen- 
tial and taught so earnestly, implied a personal revelation — an 
inward evidence of Christanity. Thus he unconciously yet 
logically taught the insufficiency of the ancient scriptures as a 
guide to salvation. It also implied the need of new and con- 
tinuous revelation as necessary for the vitality and growth of 
the church. Wesley continued his labors for upwards of fifty- 



JuHN WES 



V 



two years, traveling and preaching until within a short time of 
his death, which occurred in his eighty- eighth year. At the 
time of his death, his followers numbered more than one hun- 
dred thousand. Now they are estimated at nearly eight millions. 
It was the teachings and practices of the Puritans, the 
Quakers and the Methodists that gave to England that great 
moral impulse which led to the establishment of Sunday 




JOHN WESLEY. 

schools by Robert Raikes of Gloucester, the reforming of 
prisons by John Howard, and the abolition of the slave trade 
by William Wilberforce. The ardor and perseverance which 
these men showed in behalf of the poor, the wronged and 
the afflicted, excited a wave of human sympathy through- 
out the length and breadth of the civilized world. It is from 
this time that may be dated the commencement of charity 
schools, foundling hospitals, insane asylums and other institu- 



154 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

tions of benevolence for which English-speaking people are 
now so famous. 

While the moral and religious movements were in progress, 
others of a political or scientific nature, were pressing forward 
with rapid strides. Amid the tumult of these times, James 
Brindley was quietly making England a net work of canals. 
Watt was silently perfecting his invention of the steam-engine 
and Adam Smith was working out the great problem of politi- 
cal and industrial economy, which has made England and her 
colonies the leading commercial and manufacturing countries 
of the world. 

Meanwhile John Hargreaves, Richard Arkwright and 
Samuel Crompton, by their inventions were revolutionizing 
the art of spinning and weaving. However, these ingenious 
devices would have done but little had it not been for the new 
and inexhaustible labor force of the steam-engine which had 
then come into general use. One of the first effects was to 
develop the iron manufactures of England. Previous to 
1750, England and her colonies imported four-fifths of their 
iron goods from Sweden : now they produce more than four- 
fifths of all the iron used in the world. 

The influence of the steam-engine and spinning jenney on 
the civilization of England is beyond human calculation. 
Mines were developed, manufactories established and the 
whole national industry so increased that the population of 
England was twice doubled in less than fifty years. At the 
same time agriculture was so improved that one-sixth of the 
people raised food for the remainder. 

W 7 hile these events were transpiring in England they had 
their due influence in the colonies. Europe saw for the first 
time a state growing up amidst the forests of the west, where 
religious freedom had become complete. Religious tolerance 
had been brought about by strange circumstances — a medley 
of religious sects such as the world had never seen before. 
New England was the stronghold of the Puritans. In some 
of the southern colonies the Episcopal church was established 
by law and the bulk of the settlers clung to it. The Roman 
Catholics formed a large majority in Maryland. Pennsylvania 
was a state of Quakers. Presbyterians and Baptists fled from 



GROWTH OF AMERICAN FREEDOM. 155 

persecution to colonize New Jersey ; Lutherans and Moravians 
from Germany abounded among the settlers of Georgia, and 
the persecuted Huguenots of France had fled from their native 
land to the forests of Carolina. In such a chaos of creeds, 
religious persecution was well nigh impossible. 

As there were but few large fortunes among the colonists, 
so nearly all had the same social standing and privileges. 
Education was general. It was the proud boast of many 
of the colonies that every man and woman could read and 
write. 

Such was the condition of the colonies in 1748, when 
MontesquieUj the wisest and most reflecting statesman of 
France, declared that a free, prosperous and great people 
were forming in the forests of America. The hereditary 
dynasties of the old world were all unconscious of the rapid 
growth of this power, which was soon to involve them in its 
new and prevailing influence. The hour of revolution was at 
hand, promising freedom to conscience and dominion to intelli- 
gence. From the fragments of European society — fragments 
that in some instances had been considered worthless — human- 
ity in the providence of God was building up a self-governing 
and democratic dominion. 

About the middle of the eighteenth century occurred three 
famous battles which did much to determine the destinies of 
men for ages to come. The first of these, was the great 
victory achieved by the English arms on the plains of Plassey, 
June 23, 1757, which laid the foundation of the empire of 
British India, an empire which comprises more than one 
hundred and twenty millions of people. The second was the 
victory of Rossbach, which determined the re-union of the 
German states and laid the foundation of the present German 
empire. The third was the triumph of Wolfe on the plains 
of Abraham, September 13, 1759, for with it virtually began 
the history of the United States. France had ever been an 
enemy whose dread had knit the colonists together and to the 
mother country, England. By wresting Canada from her 
grasp and breaking through the line with which France had 
barred the British colonists from the basin of the Mississippi, 
Pitt laid the foundation of the great republic of the West. 



156 THE HAND 01- VROVIDEtfCE. 

Hitherto the possessions of France in North America had been 
twenty times as vast as those of England ; henceforth they 
were destined to dwindle into insignificance and eventually 
become extinct. 

The close of the seven years' war, which ended at the peace 
of Paris, 1763, was a turning point in the history of the world. 
England was no longer a mere European power. Her future 
action lay in a wider sphere than that of Europe. Mistress of 
North America, the future mistress of India, claiming as her 
own the empire of the seas, Britain suddenly towered high 
above rival nations whose interest and position, being on a 
single continent, doomed them to comparative insignificance in 
the after history of mankind. 

It is this that gives William Pitt so peculiar a position among 
the statesmen of the world. It was his faith, his daring — shall 
we not say his inspiration? — that called the English people to a 
sense of the destiny that lay before them. 

With England on one side and her American colonies on the 
other, the Atlantic was dwindling into a mere strait within 
the British realms; but beyond it to the westward lay a vast 
ocean where the British flag was almost unknown. True the 
Pacific ocean had been discovered by Balboa in 1513, and 
crossed by Magellan in 1521. Dutch voyagers had discovered 
that "Great Southern Land," which they had named New 
FTolland and also the northern extremity of New Zealand. 
Bat the discoveries had remained unheeded for more than a 
century. 

It was not till 1778 that, under Pitt's direction, Captain Cook 
was sent into the Pacific ocean on a voyage of discovery. He 
discovered the Sandwich Islands circumnavigated New Zea- 
land and took possession of Australia, or New Holland, in the 
name of the English king. The reports which he published 
of that vast ocean and those far-off islands, of their coral 
reefs, and palms, and bread-fruit, and gum trees, and kanga- 
roos, and tatooed warriors, awoke an interest in the minds of 
the English concerning this world of wonders. They saw in 
all this a vast realm opened for the expansion of the English 
race, and English civilization. 



EXTENSION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 157 

The extension of the English language over vast territories 
and populations is without a parallel in the history of the 
world. Fully one-fifth of the surface of the globe and one- 
fourth of its population are under the dominion of England 
and the United States. The English language is now spoken, 
and English and American literature is read in every zone. 

"They spread where Winter piles deep snows on "bleak Canadian 

plains, 
And where on green Pacific isles eternal sum mer reigns. 
They glad Acadia's misty coasts, Jamaica's glowing isle, 
And bide where gay with early flowers green Texan prairies 

smile. 

"They dwell where Californian brooks wash down their sands of 

gold, 
And track the Frazier's swelling flood thro' sunset valleys rolled; 
They're found in Borneo's camphor groves, on shores of fierce 

Malay, 
In valleys washed by Ganges' flood where Ceylon's zephyrs stray. 

"Old Albions laws, Columbia's songs rejoice the captive's limbs; 
The dark Liberian soothes her child with English cradle hymns, 
Tasmanian maids are wooed and won, in gentle Saxon speech. 
Australian boys read Crusoe's life, by Sidney's sheltered beach. 

"They speak to men so far apart, that while this praise we sing, 
Some may rejoice with autumn fruits, others with flowers of 

spring, 
They speak with Shakspeare's searching thoughts and Bryant's 

lofty mind, 
With Alfred's laws and Franklin's lore, to cheer and bless 

mankind." 

Who does not see a marvelous wisdom in all this? The lan- 
guage thus widely spread was destined to be the medium by 
which the gospel is to be spread in all the nations of the earth. 
Who does not perceive that the statesmanship of Pitt was one 
of the great instrumentalities for the execution of the divine 
purposes? Like all great men, Pitt was in advance of the age 
in which he lived. But England could not forget the eminent 
services of him, who had done so much to promote her great- 
ness. The ashes of Pitt (now best known as the earl of 
Chatham) repose in Westminster Abbey, the burial place of 



158 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

the kings of England. History will declare that among states- 
men, few have left a more stainless, none a more splendid 
name. 

While these leading events were transpiring around them 
two remarkable persons were developing in the American col- 
onies. One of these was George Washington, the other, Ben- 
jamin Franklin. 

Washington was born in 1732. His father, a gentleman of 
good fortune, died when his future illustrious son was only 
eleven years of age. Upon Washington's mother devolved the 
care of his early education. She was a devout woman, of 
excellent sense and deep affections, yet of a temper which could 
brook no shadow of insubordination. Under her rule — gentle 
and yet strong, Greorge learned obedience and self-control. In 
boyhood he gave remarkable promise of those excellencies 
which distinguished his mature years. His person was large 
and powerful. He was accustomed to labor, which gave him 
endurance to perform the work that lay before him. His 
education was limited to the common English branches, mathe- 
matics and land surveying. In his eighteenth year he was 
employed by the government as surveyor of public lands. 
Many of his measurements are still on record, and long 
experience has established their unvarying accuracy. A massive 
intellect and an iron strength of will were given to him, with 
a gentle, loving heart, dauntless courage, and loftiness of 
purpose. He possessed, in a wonderful degree, clear per- 
ceptions of his duty, and a deep insight into the wants of his 
time. 

While Washington's boyhood was being passed on the banks 
of the Potomac, Benjamin Franklin was toiling hard in the 
city of Philadelphia to earn an honest livelihood. He edited 
a newspaper, bound books, made ink, sold rags, soap and 
coffee. He also published the first American almanac. A fac- 
simile of the title page is given on the next page. 

He was a thriving man, but he was not ashamed to convey 
along the streets in a wheelbarrow the paper which he bought 
for the purpose of his trade. As a boy, he had been studious 
and thoughtful. As a man, he was prudent, sagacious and 
trustworthy. When he had earned a moderate competency he 



FIRST AMERICAN ALMANAC. 



159 



Poor Richard, 1 73 \ 



AN 



Almanack 



For the Year of Clirift 



733 



Being the FirH after LEAP YEAR: 

+4nd makes Jlncc the, Creation. Yea** 

By the Accounf of the &,a&eytL. Greeks 724.1 

By the Latilt Church, wherx O «nt Y» 6932, 

By the Computatiorv of ZfW 5742. 

By tkc Homan Cbroriojogy J6&2. 

By the ^&*/£& BaU>ie$ ft+gq 

Wherein* is contained 
The Lunations,. Eclipfes 7 Judgment ol 

tU 'Wc2itl\QT t .Spring Tides, Pianefc Motion? & 
mutual y\ipffts> Sun. and Moons RUing and Set- 
trng, Lewgtn. 06 Days. Time of High. Water,. 
Fam* Courts, and ofc/crVAble Days 
Fitted to ilie Latitude of Forty Degrees 
and a Mericlun of Five Hours W«ft (r&m L*ydo* f 
"but way without fen&bie Err©? fenneaRthe &a 
jacenfc Place*, even ff&rv^N^^WiW to S&*t&~ 

CavoUxa, , jsm 1 _^— 

'STWCiiJRD SAUNDERS, Philonx 

PHILADELPHIA'. -. . 
Wntad *.*feld ty B.JRANKLW * ■ *« New 
Frinti).g.t>ffice near the Maito*. 



160 



THE HANI) OF PROVIDENCE. 




J JENJAM I N YRA N K LT N . 



GATHERING OF POLITICAL FORCES. 161 

ceased to labor at his business. Henceforth he labored to serve 
his fellow-men. Philadelphia owes to Franklin her university, 
her hospital, and her first and greatest library. It was he who 
discovered the identity of lightning and electricity. Before the 
revolution he was sent to England to plead the cause of the 
colonists. During the war he was sent as ambassador to the court 
of France. At the close of the war he was appointed one of 
the commissioners to- negotiate a treaty of peace between the 
United States and Great Britain. The last great work of his 
life was to aid in the forming of the constitution of the United 
States. He continued in public office till within six months of 
his death and in public service till within twenty-four days of it. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE EVE OF REVOLUTION. 



GATHERING OF POLITICAL FORCES— GENERAL REVOLUTION 
— CIVIL REFORMS— DECAY OF OLD INSTITUTIONS— -ROS- 
SEAU AND HIS WHITINGS — VOLTAIRE— HOLLAND, A 
TOLLTJCAL REFUGE — AMERICAN SETTLERS — LINES OF 
ALBERT B. STREET— GROWTH OF THE COLONIES— LOVE 
FOR ENGLAND— CAUSES OF REVOLUTION— MANUFACTURES 
FORBIDDEN— STAMP ACT — TAX ON TEA — PHILADELPHIA 
CONVENTION— ADDRESS TO THE KING— APPEAL TO ENG- 
LAND—TO CANADA — INCIDENT IN OLD SOUTH CHURCH, 
BOSTON — PAUL REVERES RIDE. 

"Freedom, thy brow, 
Glorious in beauty though it be, is scarred 
With tokens of old wars; thy massive limbs 
Are strong with struggling. Power at thee has launched 
His bolts, and with his lightnings smitten thee. 
They could not quench the light thou hast from heaven." 

\\ 7 HO has failed to observe on a calm summer day the 
" elements of a storm collecting silently, and gradu- 
ally, until the whole heavens grew dark, and the light of 
the sun was hid? The calm was changed into a tempest, the 
lightning flashed, the thunder roared, the clouds piled up 



162 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

thicker and heavier until at length the storm burst, the rain 
fell in torrents deluging the earth and in some cases uprooting 
the plants it was designed to nourish and strengthen. 

So, too, in the political world the forces gather gradually, 
until they have attained sufficient power, and then burst 
upon the affrighted nations in all the tumult of a terrible 
revolution. 

There are few intelligent people in this age but what have a 
general idea of the history of the world ; yet how compara- 
tively few are there who realize the fact, that in the seventy- 
five years which elapsed between 1775 and 1850 the great 
majority of civilized nations passed through a great social and 
political change. Among the nations so affected may be men- 
tioned the United States, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, 
Greece, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Mexico, Central 
America and nearly all the South American states. To this 
may be added the great commotions in Russia, Sweden, 
Norway, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland and the states of the 
German empire caused by the wars of Napoleon. In England, 
Ireland and Canada, wars were only averted by civil reforms 
and concessions to popular rights. 

For Europe this epoch was the result of the struggles of 
generations. At the close of the seven years' war in 1763 the 
representatives of even the Catholic powers admitted the 
decay of old institutions. The Catholic monarchies headed 
by the pope, in their struggle against Protestantism and free 
thought had encountered defeat. From this great struggle 
came forth a principle of all-pervading energy. The life- 
giving truth of the Reformation was the right of private judg- 
ment. The world was rising up against -superstition ; the 
oppression of industry was passing away. The use of reason 
was no longer considered a crime, but was on the other hand, 
considered a duty. Ideas of the brotherhood of man were 
flashing across the minds of leading men. 

At this juncture a remarkable political writer made his 
appearance, From the discipleship of Calvin, from the 
republic of Geneva, from the abodes of poverty, Jean Jacques 
Rosseau came as the advocate of the poor and the oppressed. 
Through him the ' 'sons of toil' ' breathed out their wrongs, 



ROSSEAU'S INFLUENCE. 163 

and a new class gained a voice in the world of published 
thought. Though full of weaknesses and jealousies and 
betrayed by poverty into shameful deeds, he possessed a deep 
and real feeling for humanity. In an age of skepticism he 
solaced the ills of life by trust in God. Fearlessly questioning 
all the grandeurs of the world, he breathed the spirit of revo- 
lution into words of flame. What though the church of Rome 
cursed his writings with her ban ; and parliaments burned them 
at the gibbet by the hangman's hand! What though France 
drove him from her soil, and the republic of his birth disowned 
her son! What though the wise and noble hooted at his 
wildness ! Yet from the woes of the world in which he had 
suffered, from the wrongs of the down-trodden which he had 
shared, he derived an eloquence that went to the heart of the 
masses of Europe. Beyond most men of his time he saw the 
hand of Providence in the history of men. 

"Nor God alone in the still calm we find, 

He mounts the storm and rides upon the wind." 

Institutions may crumble and governments fall, but it is 
only that they may renew a better youth ; the petals of the 
flower wither that fruit may form. On the banks of the 
stream of time not a great deed has been done by a hero, or 
monument raised by a nation, but tells the story of human 
progress. Each people that has disappeared, every great 
institution that has passed away, has been but a step in the 
ladder by which humanity ascends to a higher plane. The 
generations that handed the truth, from rank to rank down 
the ages, have themselves become dust ; but the light still 
increases its ever-burning flame. From the intelligence that 
had been slowly ripening sprang the American revolution. 
While Rosseau was putting his burning thoughts in print, and 
Voltaire, the prince of scoffers, was hurling his venomed 
shafts of sarcasm at the priesthood of the Roman church; 
farther north was the little country, Holland, which had already 
gained a large share of civil and religious liberty. Here 
thought ranged through the wide domain of speculative 
reason ; here the literary fugitive found an asylum, and the v 
boldest writings, which in other countries were circulated by 
stealth, were openly published to the world, 



164 THE HANI) OF PROVIDENCE. 

AVhile the learned and thoughtful men of Europe were 
thinking, the pioneers of America were acting. Nothing 
could restrain them from peopling the wilderness. To be a 
land- owner was the ruling passion of the New England man. 
In general, marriages were early and very fruitful. The sons, 
as they grew up skilled in the use of the ax and the rifle, 
would, one after another, move from the old homestead ; and, 
with a wife, a yoke of oxen, a cow and a few necessary imple- 
ments, build a small hut in the foiest and by dint of industry 
soon win for themselves plenty and independence. The beau- 
tiful lines of Albert B. Street well describe the circumstances 
as well as the character of the men who founded American 
institutions and moulded the national character : 

"His echoing ax the settler swung 

Amid the sea-like solitude, 
And rushing, thundering down were flung 

The Titans of the wood. 
Loud shrieked the eagle as he dashed 
From out his mossy nest, which crashed 

With its supporting bough, 
And the first sunlight leaping flashed 

On the wolf's haunt below. 

kl Kude was the garb, and strong the frame 

Of him who plied his ceaseless toil : 
To form the garb, the wild- wood game 

Contributed their spoil ; 
The soul that warmed that frame disdained 
The tinsel gaud and glare, that reigned 

Where men their crowds collect; 
The simple fur untrimmed, unstained, 

This forest tamer decked. 

"His roof adorned a pleasant spot, 

'Mid the black logs, green glowed the grain, 
And fruits and plants the woods knew not 

Bloomed in the sun and rain. 
The smoke-wreath curling o'er the dell, 
The lowing herds — the tinkling bell, 

All made a landscape strange. 
Which was the living chronicle 

Of deeds that wrought the change. 



GROWTH OF THE COLONIES. 165 

"Humble the lot, yet his the race, 

When liberty sent forth her cry, 
Who thronged in conflict's deadliest place 

To fight — to bleed— to die; 
Who cumbered Bunker's hight of red. 
By hope through weary years were led 

And witnessed Yorktown's sun 
Blaze on a nations banner spread — 

A nation's freedom won." 

A century and a half bad now passed since the first colony 
had been planted on American soil. The colonists were fast 
ripening into fitness for independence. They had increased 
with marvelous rapidity. Europe never ceased to send forth 
her needy thousands. America opened wide her hospitable 
doors and gave assurance of liberty and comfort to all who 
came. The thirteen colonies now contained a population of 
about three millions. 

Up to the year 1764, the Americans cherished a deep rever- 
ence and affection for the mother country. They were 
proud to be considered British subjects, and of the lofty place 
England held among the nations of the earth. They gloried 
in the splendor of her military achievements. They copied her 
manners and her fashions. Her language, laws and literature 
were as fondly cherished by the colonists as by the English 
themselves. 

Why was it then that such a marvelous change should take 
place in the minds of the American people, during the next 
twelve years? In 1 704 the colonists loved England as their mother 
country. In 1776 they had learned to despise her authority. 
They bound themselves, by solemn oaths, to use no article of 
English manufacture. They publicly burned the Acts of the 
English Parliament. They even killed the king's soldiers and 
cast from them forever his authority. By what terrible magic 
was this change wrought so swiftly: that three millions of 
people should be taught to abhor the country they once loved? 

To answer this question rightly we must remember that the 
cause of the colonists was one of popular rights against 
royal prerogative, that the best and wisest men in England 
were in favor of the colonists; that even William Pitt, the 



166 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

greatest statesman England had ever seen, declared openly in 
Parliament, "I rejoice that America has resisted." 

We must also bear in mind that for many years England 
had governed her American colonies harshly; and in a spirit 
of undisguised selfishness, America was ruled not for her 
own good but for the good of English commerce. The 
colonists were not allowed to export their products except to 
England. No foreign ships were permitted to enter colonial 
ports. Whatever were the exorbitant demands of English 
manufacturers or merchants, still the colonists were not per- 
mitted to buy at a cheaper market. Still more, certain goods, 
woolen for example, were not allowed to be sent from one colony 
to another. The manufacture of hats was forbidden, and even 
the Bible was not allowed to be printed in America. 

The colonists had long borne the cost of their own govern- 
ment and defense. But in that age of profuse expenditure on 
useless wars, the king and nobility of England thought to 
gather from America's toiling sons the means to pay for their 
own misrule. The Parliament of England passed a law to 'tax 
America. The colonists replied they were willing to vote what 
moneys the king required of them; but they vehemently 
denied the right of any assembly, in which they were not 
represented, to take from them any portion of their property. 
Another law was also passed requiring a royal stamp to be 
placed on every legal document. Benjamin Franklin had been 
sent to England by the colonists. He went to plead their 
cause before the British government. He told them plainly 
that the colonists could not submit to such taxation. The act 
was to come in force on the first of November, 1763. On that 
day the church bells were tolled, and the people wore the 
aspect of those on whom some heavy calamity had fallen. Not 
one of the stamps was ever sold in America, Without stamps 
mercantile transactions ceased to be binding, notes were not 
legal, marriages were null. Yet the business of life went on. 
Men married; they bought; they sold — illegally, because 
without stamps ; but no harm came of it. 

England heard with amazement that America refused to 
obey the law. The great statesman, Pitt, denounced the act, 



TAX ON TEA. 1G7 

and, at length, it was repealed. The repeal of the stamp act 
only delayed for a little the fast-coming crisis. 

It was during this agitation that the colonists first felt the 
need of a commercial and political union. The idea of a 
general congress of the states was suggested, which soon after- 
wards met in the city of New York. 

The king of England was still determined to tax America, 
and soon levied a tax on tea. The people determined they 
would drink no more tea rather than pay the tax. One day 
ships loaded with taxed tea arrived in Boston harbor. There 
was a great commotion ; the men ran together to hold council. 
It was Sunday, and the people of Boston were very strict, yet 
here was an emergency in the presence of which all ordinary 
rules were suspended. The crisis had come at length. If that 
tea was landed, it would be sold ; it would be used, and Ame- 
rican liberty would become a by-word upon the earth. 

The brave and liberty-loving Samuel Adams was the leading 
man of Boston at that time. He was a man in middle life just 
forty-two years of age, of cultivated mind and stainless repu- 
tation, a powerful speaker and writer, and a man in whose 
sagacity and moderation all men trusted. He resembled 
Cromwell in some particulars — his love of liberty, undaunted 
courage and trust in God. He was among the first to see that 
there was no resting place short of independence. He said : 
"Our forefathers were driven from the land of their birth in 
the cause of religious liberty. They made themselves homes 
in the wilds of America. We have earned a competence and 
are self-sustaining. We are free and need no king but God." 
The men of Boston felt the power of his resolute spirit and 
manfully followed where Samuel Adams led. Several days of 
excitement and discussion followed. People flocked in from 
the neighboring towns. The time was spent mainly in political 
meetings. At Fanueil Hall, in the churches and at the market 
place, the rights of the people were discussed. One day a 
meeting was held and the excited people continued in hot 
debate till the shades of evening fell. At length Samuel 
Adams stood up in the dimly lighted church and announced : 
"This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." 
With a stern shout the meeting broke up. Fifty men dis- 



168 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

guised as Indians hurried down to the wharf, each man with 
a hatchet in his hand. The crowd followed, and stood on the 
shore in silence while the so-called Indians went on board the 
ship, broke open the chests of tea and threw them and their 
contents into the sea. No wonder King George was in a rage. 
No wonder that he demanded that the guilty parties, if they 
could be found, should be sent to England for trial. The great 
statesman, William Pitt, also called the Earl of Chatham, 
pleaded for measures of conciliation ; but all in vain. General 
Gage with four regiments was sent to Boston. He threw up 
fortifications and lay as in a hostile city. The colonists 
appointed a day of fasting and prayer. They knew that their 
cause was just. They looked to Him for protection, who 
1 'holds the nations in the hollow of His hand." They knew 
that He, who had guided them across the rolling deep and 
had preserved them in the wilderness, could also protect them 
from the rage and avarice of wicked men. They also formed 
themselves into military companies. They occupied them- 
selves with drill. They laid up stores of ammunition. Most 
of them had muskets and could use them. He who had no 
musket, now got one. They hoped that civil war might be 
averted, but there was no harm in being ready. While these 
things were going on in Boston, a congress of delegates had 
met in Philadelphia and were busy discussing measures in 
regard to the troubles that were thickening around them. 
Twelve colonies were represented but Georgia, the 3 T oungest 
and feeblest colony, still paused timidly on the brink of the 
perilous enterprise. Some of the truly great men of America 
met in that congress. Of it the great Earl of Chatham said : 
4 'For genuine sagacity, for singular moderation, for solid wis- 
dom the congress of Philadelphia shines unrivalled." That 
quaint old building where they met became one of the spots 
ever dear to the patriot's heart. Among the famous men 
assembled there were George Washington whose massive sense 
and copious knowledge attracted attention, and made him a 
guiding power, and Patrick Henry, then a young man. 
He brought to the council a wisdom beyond his years, and a 
fiery eloquence, which, to some of his hearers, seemed almost 
more than human. He had already shown that he ^as 



APPEAL TO ENGLAND. 169 

unfitted for farming or merchandizing. He was now to prove 
that he could utter words which would sweep over a continent, 
thrill men's hearts like the most sublime strains of music, and 
rouse them up to high and noble deeds. There also was 
Richard Henry Lee. with his bewitching voice, his ripe 
scholarship, and rich stores of historical and political knowl- 
edge, which would have graced the highest assemblies of the 
old world. Nor should we forget to mention the noble-minded 
farmer, John Dickinson, whose published letters had done so 
much to form the public sentiment. His enthusiastic love of 
England was now overborne by a sense of wrong, And last, 
but by no means least, we may place on the list the name of 
Benjamin Franklin, the sage philosopher, the practical scien- 
tist, the shrewd diplomatist, the incorruptible patriot, the 
wise philanthropist. Such were some of the men whom God 
raised up to mould the character of the infant nation. 

Still they did not wish for separation. They wished to have 
their wrongs redressed and continue British subjects. They 
drew up a narrative of their wrongs. They implored King 
George to remove those grievances. They even addressed the 
people of Great Britain, as subjects of the same empire, as 
men possessing common sympathies and common interests: 
yet they added that "they would not be 'hewers of wood and 
drawers of water' to any nation in the world/' Had all the 
mists been Englishmen or descendants of Englishmen no 
more could have been expected. When we recollect that they 
had been gathered from many nations and different climes, 
their subserviency to the interests of the British empire is 
remarkable. The colonists even appealed to their fellow- 
colonists in Canada for aid and sympathy. But Canada. 
newly conquered from France, was peopled almost wholly by 
Frenchmen. They were strangers to the religious struggles 
through which the more southern colonists had passed. And 
from Canada there came no response of sympathy or 
help. 

King George now determined to reduce the colonists to 
obedience. All trade with the colonies was forbidden. Xo 
ship of any nation was permitted to enter American ports or 
bring supplies to the settlers in America. In justice to the 



1 TO THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

English people it should be said, that in those days they had 
no control over the government of their country. All this was 
managed for them by a few great families. Their allotted 
part was to toil hard, pay their taxes, and be silent. If they 
had been permitted to speak, their voice would have been on 
the side of popular rights. They would have vindicated the 
men who asserted the right of self-government — a right which 
the great mass of Englishmen were not to enjoy for many a 
long year after. 

Two incidents occurred about this time which well illustrate 
the spirit of the people. It was the Sabbath morning before 
the battle of Lexington. The scene of the first is the Old 
South Church, itself rich with the mementos of the past. Its 
walls are lined with monuments. The burying-ground around 
the church is a picturesque spot and was first used about 1660. 
The trees interweave their branches above the tombs, and only 
pencil-rays of sunlight break the broad, cool shadows of the 
spot. The Boston branch of the Winslow family rests here, and 
here also sleeps the famous Mary Chilson, who is said to have 
been the first to step on shore from the Mayflower. She died 
in 1679. Here lie the remains of Governor John Win thro p ; 
Hon. John Philips, the first mayor of the city ; Robert Treat 
Paine, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence ; 
and many others among which should not be forgotten the 
name of Paul Revere. 

At this church the governor of the colony and other British 
government officials usually attended. On this beautiful 
April Sabbath morning they had come as usual; and the 
happy yet determined people were quietly talking and loiter- 
ing among the graves of their ancestors. At length the pastor 
came, and they followed him into the church. The hymn they 
sang is known as the ninety-fourth psalm. It commences : 
"O Lord our G-od, to whom alone, all vengeance doth belong; 
O mighty God, who vengeance ownest, shine forth avenging 

wrong, 
Thy folk they break in pieces, Lord, thine heritage oppress, 
The widow they and stranger slay, and kill the fatherless." 
The pastor's text was Psalms xlvi., 1 : "God is our refuge 
and strength, a very present help in trouble. 



INCIDENT IN OLD SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON. 171 

He spoke of the wrongs the colonists had endured, the 
position they held in regard to posterity, and the responsibility 
which rested upon them to plant the institutions of liberty for 
the benefit of future generations. Warming with his theme, 
he uttered sentences which caused the hearts of foes to quake 
and the hearts of friends to glow and burn within them. 
Standing on the platform of truth and right, he dared to hurl 
defiance at a tyrant king. 

The governor, Berkley, interrupted the speaker, and, calling 
him a traitor, demanded that he should cease. 

Some of the militia of Boston foreseeing the danger of the 
daring speaker had followed him to the church, and already 
stood in the vestibule. Just at that moment the trumpet 
sounded, the drums beat and the great church-bell rang out 
its clarion notes calling the citizens to arms. Such was the 
spirit of the people that the governor sought in vain to stay 
their indignation which swept like a flood over the land. With 
the Puritans liberty was a part of their religion. 

The other incident occurred on the eve of the battle of 
Lexington. 

Early in April 1775, General Gage learned that considerable 
stores of ammunition were collected at the village of Concord, 
eighteen miles from Boston, and he determined to capture 
them. Late on the night of April 18th, eight hundred 
soldiers set out on this errand. The patriots observed that 
there was something more than ordinary in progress. Com- 
panies of soldiers were massed on Boston common under 
pretense of learning a new military exercise. 

Doctor, afterwards General, Joseph Warren, who fell at 
Bunker Hill, received notice of the design of the troops, and 
at once sent Paul Revere to arouse the country. It was agreed 
that a signal light should be placed in the tower of the Old 
North Church to notify the watchers of the direction the 
troops had taken — one if by land, two if by sea. Paul Revere 
then rowed across the stream to Charlestown. He was not a 
moment too soon. General Gage heard that his plans were 
discovered, and orders were at once given that no person 
should be allowed to leave Boston. Had these orders been 
given five minutes sooner, the whole course of the revolution 



172 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

might have been changed. As it was Revere reached the 
other side in safety. Having obtained a fleet and sure-footed 
steed he stood impatiently watching the belfry tower of the 
Old North Church. Meanwhile Warren, in disguise, wandered 
through the darkness and listened with eager ears till he heard 
the measured tread of the grenadiers marching down to the 
boats. Then with lantern in hand he climbed up into the 
belfry and a gleam of light shone over the dark and silent 
city. Paul Revere sprang into the saddle, but paused a 
moment and gazed until a second light gleamed out distinctly 
and clearly. Then 

U A hurry of hoofs in a village street, 
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, 
And beneath from the pebbles in passing, a spark 
Struck out by the steed that flies fearless and fleet; 
That was all! And yet thro' the darkness and gloom 
The fate of a nation was riding that night, 
And the spark struck out by the steed in his flight 
Kindled the land into flame with its heat. 
It was twelve by the village clock 
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town. 
It was one by the village clock 
. When he rode into Lexington. 

He saw the gilded weathercock swim 

In the moonlight as he passed, 

And the meeting-house windows blank and bare 

Gaze at him with a spectral glare 

As if they already stood aghast, 

At the bloody work they would look upon. 

You know the rest. In the books you have read 

How the British regulars fired and fled, 

How the farmers gave them ball for ball, 

From behind each fence and farm-yard wall, 

Chasing the red-coats down the lane, 

Then crossing the fields to emerge again 

Under the trees, at the turn of the road, 

And only pausing to fire and load. 

So through the night rode Paul Revere ; 

And so through the night went his cry of alarm 

To every Middlesex village and farm — 

A cry of defiance and not of fear — 

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, 



BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 173 

A word that shall echo for evermore! 

For, borne on the night wind of the past 

Through human history to the last 

The good shall pray and by faith shall hear 

A delivering foot- fall as of that steed 

And a midnight message as of Paul Revere." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE BOYS OF '76. 



battle of lexington — officers chosen— a year of 
discussion— declaration of independence — spirit 
of english nobility— defeat of american forces 
— success at trenton and princeton— sufferings at 
valley forge— Washington's prayer — burgoyne's 
campaign— arrival of la fayette— arnold's trea- 
son— and re's death — siege of yorktown — close of 
the war— treaty of peace — army disbanded — 
washington resigns his commission — constitu- 
tional convention — washington elected president 
— his death— his tomb. 

YT riTH the battle of Lexington the war of the Revolution 
* » may be said to commence. Henceforth the colonies 
were united. Georgia no longer hesitated, but sent her dele- 
gates to the continental Congress. Resolutions were unani- 
mously passed to provide for the defense of the country. But 
it was not till after the battle of Bunker Hill that the people 
favored independence. When the tidings of the battle 
arrived, Patrick Henry exclaimed: "This was needed to 
rouse the country to action." On the same day Congress 
appointed George Washington commander in chief of the 
colonial forces. On the day following it elected its four major- 



174 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

generals. From deference to Massachusetts, for the noble 
part she had taken, the first of these was Artetnas Ward. 
The second was Charles Lee, the son of an English officer, the 
third was Philip Schuyler, of New York; the fourth was 
Israel Putnam, of Connecticut. Thus the -country took up 
arms with only one general officer, who drew to himself the 
trust and love of the country. 

Washington immediately accepted the position and wrote 
to his brother: "I bid adieu to every kind and domestic 
ease, and embark on a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, 
and in which, perhaps, no safe harbor is to be found." 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Trumbull, the governor of Connecticut, wrote to him: "Now 
be strong and very courageous ; may the God of the armies of 
Israel give you wisdom and fortitude and cover your head in 
the day of battle and danger." To this Washington replied: 
1 ' The cause of our common country calls us both to an active 
and dangerous duty'; divine Providence, which wisely orders 
the affairs of men, will enable us to discharge it with fidelity 
and success." 

Such were the sentiments which animated the colonists in 
June, 1775. A year of discussion and anxiety followed, during 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 175 

which a remarkable pamphlet was published, entitled, 
''Common Sense." The writer, who embodied in words the 
vague longing of the people, mixed with crude notions of his 
own, was Thomas Paine, the son of an English Quaker, and, 
at that time, a little under forty years of age. In after years 
he became a profligate and a reviler of the scriptures, yet, at 
that time, his writings did much to prepare the American 
people for self-government. 

However, it was not until June, 1776, that the colonists 
gave up the hope of reconciliation. At that time the Assembly 
of Virginia issued a famous circular entitled, "The Rights of 
Man." The leading principles which it taught were, that 
"government ought to be instituted for the benefit of the 
people ; that freedom of speech and of the press should never 
be interfered with ; and that religion can be directed only by 
reason and conviction, not by fraud or violence." A month 
later, July 4th, 1776, the continental Congress issued The 
Declaration of Independence. And for the support ot 
this declaration they added : ' ' With a firm reliance on the 
protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to 
each other, our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." 

Thus the youthful nation, as it took its place among the 
powers of the world, proc^imed its faith in the truth and 
reality and unchangeableness of freedom, virtue and right. 
The heart of Jefferson, in writing the declaration, and of Con- 
gress in adopting it, beat for all humanity. The assertion ot 
right was made for all nations and for all coming generations. 
It was addressed to all mankind and was destined to make the 
circuit of the world. As it passed by the despotic countries 
of Europe, and the astonished people read with mingled sur- 
prise and joy, that "all men are created equal," and have an 
equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they 
started as from the sleep of years ; like those, who have been 
exiles from their native land from childhood, start up when 
they suddenly hear the dimly remembered accents of their 
mother tongue. 

Wh^n the news of the declaration of independence reached 
England the spirit of the nobility was vehement against the 
Americans. Had the decision of the conflict hung on the 



176 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

strength of armies alone, the colonists could not have gained 
the victory; but it involved the interests of Europe's toiling 
millions, and brought into action ideas which had hitherto no 
opportunity for expression, and forces which until then had 
no sphere of action. The principles that gave life to the new 
institutions pervaded history like a prophecy, and seemed like 
the realizing of the golden age of which the poets dreamed. 
The most profound thinkers and most intense lovers of the 
race saw in America's future an opportunity for man's higher 
development; the spiritual -minded saw in the history and 
circumstances of America the wonder-working and controlling 
hand of Providence. 

The history of the military campaigns of 1776 and 1777, 
are too well known to need repetition here. The Americans 
were beaten in every attack made upon them, from the battle 
of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, to the battle of Fort Mifflin, 
October 22, 1777. At Cambridge they had no powder, yet 
their courage and perseverance held out. They lost Long 
Island, New York, Fort Washington and more than three 
thousand men. They fled through New Jersey followed by 
the victorious English. The American army kept on dwindl- 
ing and shrinking till it comprised scarcely seven thousand 
men, ill armed, unpaid, ill clad and unfed. 

During those two years and four months the only battles, 
that were precursors of success and gave renewed hope and 
vigor to the patriot cause, were the brilliant successes at 
Trenton and Princeton. 

It was the night before Christmas. The British lay waiting 
fur the Delaware river to freeze over, that they might again 
pursue Washington and his little band. Meanwhile the 
Americans collected all the boats up and down the river for 
seventy miles. After dark they commenced to cross the river. 
The night was dark and tempestuous, and the weather so 
intensely cold that two of the soldiers were frozen to death. 
Yet amidst the floating ice and gusts of wind they fearlessly 
rowed across the river. At day-break Christmas morning 
they attacked the astonished royalists. Three times as many 
prisoners were taken as the number of the American troops 
engaged. The Americans then recrossed the river taking the 



178 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

prisoners with them. A week later, Washington made 
another night march and surprised the British at Princeton, 
capturing prisoners and making good his escape. 

These exploits, inconsiderable as they may seem, greatly 
raised the spirits of the American people. When triumphs 
like these were possible, under circumstances so discouraging, 
there was no need to despair. 

Though the British advanced on Philadelphia and took 
possession of it, stiii there was a feeling of insecurity in the 
British army. They knew not what moment they might be 
attacked. 

Notwithstanding these successes many of the American 
officers left the army in disgust. The nation could not pay 
her soldiers and made no promise of future indemnity. The 
British had full possession of New York, and were rioting 
and feasting at Philadelphia. Meanwhile Washington with 
his little army had retreated to a secluded place among the 
Pennsylvania hills, which was known by the name of Valley 
Forge. 

As the men moved toward the spot selected for their winter 
resting-place, they had no clothes to cover their nakedness, 
blankets to lie on, nor tents to sleep under. For the want of 
shoes, their marches through frost and snow might be traced 
by the blood from their feet, and they were almost as often 
without provisions as with them. 

An extract from one of Washington's letters to Congress 
may not be out of place : " We have this day no less than 
two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight men unfit for duty, 
because they are barefoot or otherwise naked. Our whole 
strength in continental troops amounts to no more than eight 
thousand two hundred men. Since the fourth instant, owing 
to hardships and exposures, our numbers have decreased 
nearly two thousand men. Numbers are obliged to sit all 
night by the fires ; or sleep on a cold, bleak hill, under frost 
and snow, without clothes or blankets." 

All this time the British soldiers in Philadelphia were well 
provided for; the officers were living in luxury at the expense 
of the inhabitants. The days were spent in pastime, the 
nights in entertainments. 



Washington's prayer. 170 

It was at this period of the war — the darkest through which 
the nation ever passed— that the following incident occurred. 
It was observed that each day after Washington had visited 
the hospital tents and administered to the sick whatever 
necessities or comforts he had in his power to bestow, he 
retired into the forest at some distance from the camp. Curi- 
osity prompted an individual, named Isaac Pitts, to follow 
him. There, at the foot of a large tree, with head uncovered, 
kneeling in the snow, was seen the commander-in-chief of the 
American armies, engaged in prayer before God. With an 
anxious and burdened mind — a mind conscious of its need of 
divine support and consolation — Washington went and rolled 
those mighty burdens — too heavy for him to bear unaided — 
upon the arm of Omnipotence. Isaac Pitts related what he 
had seen and heard, and on a subsequent day at least three 
persons beheld the venerated "father of his country," at 
prayer before his God. 

It is recorded in Matthew vi., 6: "But thou, when thou 
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father, 
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." May we not 
believe that the high moral courage which dared greater 
perils than the whistling of bullets ; that will of mighty 
strength which having chosen the right, though unpopular, 
never deviated from it; that calm self-command, which bore 
up under the greatest reverses and still preserved its equanim- 
ity amidst the taunts of enemies and censure of friends — may 
we not believe that these things were among the open rewards 
of secret prayer ? 

From that time forward success seems to have attended the 
American arms. Meanwhile the tidings of American heroism 
and suffering had reached the old world and thrilled the hearts 
of the lovers of liberty in Europe. Prominent among these 
was the Marquis de la Fayette, a young French nobleman, then 
scarcely nineteen years of age, who offered to serve in the 
American army, without pension or allowance. The king of 
France dreaded the growth of civil and political liberty ; yet 
he could not withstand the temptation to wreak a terrible 
vengeance on England for having wrested Canada from his 



ISO 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



grasp. He sent a fleet and army to America, which greatly 
aided the cause of Independence. Thus did the rage of 
wicked men further the designs of Providence. 

While Washington was still hemmed in among the hills of 
Penns3 T lvania, the British general, Burgoyne, had marched 
from Canada into the heart of New England. At his approach 
every man took down his musket from the wall and hurried to 
the front. Little discipline had they, but a resolute purpose 
and a sure aim. Difficulties thickened around the fated army. 




SCENE OF BURGOYNE S SURRENDER. 



At length, Burgoyne found himself at Saratoga. It was now 
October. Heavy rains fell. Provisions were growing scanty. 
Gradually it became evident that the British were surrounded. 
Night and day a circle of fire encompassed them. Burgoyne 
called his officers together. There was but one thing to do and 
it was done. The British army surrendered. Nearly six 
thousand brave men, in sorrow and in shame, laid down their 
arms. The men who took them were mere peasants. No two 
of them were dressed alike. These grotesque American 



TRAGIC FATE OF MAJOR ANDRE. 



181 



warriors behaved towards their conquered enemies with true 
nobility. General Gates, the American commander, kept his 
men strictly within their lines, that they might not witness the 
piliog of the British arms. No taunt was offered, no look of 




MEETING PLACE OF ANDRE AND ARNOLD. 



disrespect was directed against the fallen. All were mute 
in astonishment and pity. 

One of the saddest incidents of the war, was the tragic 
fate of Major Andre. The Americans had a strong fortress 
at West Point, on the Hudson river. The English desired to 



182 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

obtain this place, as its possession would give them command 
of the Hudson river, up which their ships might sail more 
than a hundred miles. But that fort, sitting impregnably on 
rocks, two hundred feet above the river, was hard to win. 
Benedict Arnold, a proud and ambitious American officer, 
was in command of this post. Loving money more than duty, 
he determined to sell this fortress to the English. He opened 
negotiations with Sir Henry Clinton, then in command of the 
English at New York, who sent Major Andre to arrange the 
terms of the transfer. 

At midnight Major Andre landed from a British ship at a 
lonely place, where Arnold awaited him. Their conference 
lasted so long, that it was deemed unsafe for Andre to return 
to the ship. It was determined that the next night he should 
attempt, in disguise, to reach New York by land. The pass 
given to him by Arnold, permitted him to go through the 
American lines. His danger might now be considered at an 
end, and, under cover of the darkness, he rode cheerfully on 
his lonely journey, till he came to a small stream. Thick 
woods on each side made the darkness still more gloom} 7 . 
Suddenly three men stepped from among the trees and ordered 
him to halt. Thinking them to be friends, he told them he 
was a British officer on very important business. Alas for 
Andre ! they were Americans. Andre was searched, and in 
his boots were discovered Arnold's drawings of West Point. 
The men knew then that he was a spy. He vainly offered 
them a large sum of money, but the men nobly refused to sell 
their liberty and their country for gold. Andre was tried, 
condemned, and, ten days after, executed. 

His death caused deep sensation throughout the army and 
England. Men in England began to inquire into the causes 
of this terrible, fratricidal war. 

While the British general, Clinton, was holding New York, 
Lord Cornwallis was fortifying himself in Yorktown, Virginia. 
The French fleet sailed for the Chesapeake bay, and Washing- 
ton decided to act in concert with the French, and lay siege to 
Yorktown. The bombarding was carried on with extra- 
ordinary energy. In a few days the defenses lay in utter ruins. 
Cornwallis determined to evacuate Yorktown and join Clinton 



TREATY OF PEACE. 183 

at New York. One night he began to embark his men in 
order to cross the York river and set out on his desperate 
march. A violent storm arose and scattered his boats. All 
hope was now at an end. In about a fortnight from the 
opening of the siege, the British army, eight thousand strong, 
laid down its arms. 

Well might the colonists rejoice for their long and bitte r 
struggle was about to close. Eight years had passed since the 
first blood was shed at Lexington. The representatives of the 
English people had learned the causes of the American revo- 
lution, and refused to continue the fratricidal war. The inde- 
pendence of the United States was acknowledged and the 
British forces were withdrawn. 

On the 30th of November, 1782, a treaty of peace was 
signed at Versailles, between the commissioners, Benjamin 
Franklin, John Adams and John Jay, appointed by the Con- 
gress of the United States and those of Great Britain. The 
treaty was not a compact imposed by force, but a perpetual 
settlement of all that had been called in question. By doing 
this act of justice to her former colonies, England rescued her 
own liberties from imminent danger, and gave a pledge of 
liberty to her other dependencies. That selfish colonial policy, 
which had led to the cruel and unnatural war, was laid aside 
forever. Great Britain was henceforth the mother of nations 
— the great colonizing power — destined to found colonies in 
every quarter of the globe, and sow the islands of the ocean 
with the seeds of freedom. 

For the United States, the war which began on Lexington 
Green, ended with the independence and possession of a 
country, which has increased till it is now thirty times larger 
than the parent state. 

"The boys of '76 M had fought their last battle. December 
4th, 1783, Washington came to disband the army. Many of 
the soldiers had been home by permission. They now came 
to bid farewell to their commander-in-chief, and then return > 
to their great work of building a nation. Washington and his 
soldiers met for the last time. No more beating of drums 
or roar of cannon ; no more weary marches or the clash of 
arms. They had fought side by side, and the memories of 



184 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

those conflicts could never be effaced. Washington said: 
1 ' With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of 
you, most devoutly wishing, that your latter days may be as 
prosperous and happy, as your former ones have been glorious 
and honorable. " 

The officers then took his hand. There were tears upon his 
cheek, and the officers felt a choking in their throats. They 
passed out of doors down to the ferry. Washington stepped 
into a boat, took off his hat and waved a farewell. The oars 
of the rowers soon bore him from New York to the New 
Jersey side. 

At noon on the 20th of December, he stood in the old hall 
of the state house at Annapolis, in the presence of the Con- 
gress, which had called him from his quiet home eight years 
before, to take command of the armies of the United States. 
Now he was to resign it. 

He said : " I commend the interests of our country to the 
protection of Almighty God, and those who have the super- 
intendence of them to His holy keeping. Having finished 
the work assigned me, and bidding an affectionate farewell to 
this august body, under whose order I have so long acted, I 
here offer my commission and take leave of all employments 
of public life. ' ' 

Thus did Washington gladly return to his home on the 
Potomac. The simple grandeur of his character was now 
revealed beyond the possibility of misconception. Afterwards 
he was twice elected president ; yet never abused the trust 
reposed in him. There were many who would have made him 
king. He trampled on their offer, and went back to his fields 
of corn and quiet haunts at Mount Vernon. The grandest 
act of his public life was to give up power ; the most magnani- 
mous deed of his private life, was to liberate his slaves. 

During the Revolution most of the states had adopted 
written codes or constitutions on which all their civil laws 
were based. They were virtually, at that time, thirteen inde- 
pendent states. Congress had but little authority ; could not 
enforce laws or collect taxes. A general constitution was 
needed, which would fuse them into one nationality, and con" 
trol their conflicting interests. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 



185 



In ] 787, fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia. They came 
together to devise means for perpetuating the liberty they had 
so dearly won. Washington was appointed to preside over 
the Convention ; Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Alexander 
Hamilton and many other wise men were there. Benjamin 
Franklin brought to this — his latest and greatest task — the 
ripe experience of eighty-two years. There were many per- 
plexing questions to be settled. Some of the states were 
large, others small : ought the small ones to have equal voice 




MOUNT VERNON. 



in the government with the large ones? They decided that 
Congress should consist of a Senate and House of Representa- 
tives — two senators from each state, no matter what its size or 
number of population ; but the representatives were to be 
elected according to population. For four months the dele- 
gates discussed the momentous issues that came before them. 
They sat with closed doors; the world will never know how 
wise or foolish, how eloquent or angry were their words. At 



186 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



one time it seemed impossible to reconcile their differences. 
Benjamin Franklin proposed that the blessing of God should 
be asked upon their labors. From that time forward, prayer 




was offered each morning, and greater unanimity prevailed in 
counsel. A spirit of concession was manifest, and a willing- 
ness to give up their private interests for the general good. 



INFLUENCE OF LA FAYEITE. 1ST 

Thus did the Spirit of God act on the hearts of the founders 
of this nation. 

At length they embodied their labors in a written constitu- 
tion, which, by a vote of the people, became, in 1789, the 
supreme law of the land. With tew amendments the original 
constitution remains in full force now, receiving, as it increases 
in age, the growing reverence of right minded people. 

Washington was the first president. He took the oath of 
office April 30th, 1789, in the presence of a vast multitude. 
He served eight years, and then retired again to Mount Ver- 
non, where he died in the sixty-eighth year of his age, Decem- 
ber 15, 1799. His countrymen mourned him with a sorrow, 
sincere and deep. Their reverence for him has not diminished 
with the progress of the years. To this day the steamers, 
which ply upon the Potomac, strike mournful notes as they 
sweep past Mount Vernon, where Washington spent the 
happiest years of his life, and where he now reposes. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



PROGRESS OF LIBERTY IN 
EUROPE. 






INFLUENCE OF LA FAYETTE — DESPOTISM IN FRANCE— THE 
BASTILE — CORRUPTIONS OF THE CHURCH— COMMENCE- 
MENT OF THE REVOLUTION— THE MARSEILLAISE — ITS 
• WONDERFUL INFLL^ENCE — REIGN OF TERROR — NAPOLEON 
BONAPARTE — HIS WONDERFUL CAREER — JEWISH 
SANHEDRIM — FALL OF NAPOLEON — HIS DEATH— PRO- 
GRESS OF LIBERTY. 

WHEN the war of independence was over La Fayette 
returned to France. He was the lightning-rod by 
which the current of republican sentiments flashed from 
America to Europe. He was the hero of the hour. A man 



188 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

who had helped to set up a republic in America, 
was a dangerous element for old despotic France to 
receive into her bosom. With the charm of a great name, 
immense wealth and boundless popularity to aid him, he 
everywhere urged that men should be free and self-governing. 
The influence of La Fayette was soon apparent. 

The people of France were living under a government which 
had come down from the feudal ages. They wished to follow 
the example of the United States, but how could this be 
accomplished? The king could do as he pleased — make war, 
build fleets, tax the people, even send men to prison when 
charged with no crime, keeping them in prison till they became 
old and gray-haired, or until death set them free. Of all the 
gloomy prisons of France, the Bastile was the most horrible. Its 
dark, deep dungeons were ever dripping with water and alive 
with vermin. No straggling ray of light ever entered them 
The floor was covered with mud and slime and the bones of 
victims who had died of starvation. 

Louis XV., king of France was accustomed to sign his name 
to blank letters and give them to his friends to fill in as they 
pleased the names of those they wished to punish. One day, 
the king wanted money, and demanded $120,000 of M. Massot. 
"I cannot pay it," he replied, "Into the Bastile with him," 
cried the king, and ordered his goods to be seized. M. Catalan 
was very rich. The king cast him into the Bastile and he did 
not get out till he handed over $1,200,000! Madame de 
Pompadour, the mistress of the king, ruled France, and woe to 
him who provoked her displeasure! M. Latude, twenty years 
old, offended her, and the great door of the Bastile closed upon 
him. The years rolled on, Madame de Pompadour and the king 
went down to the grave, yet M. Latude was still a prisoner in 
the Bastile. Thus for sixty years did Louis XV. , plunder and 
imprison the people of France. 

The nobility, the priests and the officers of the government 
paid no taxes, but, on the other hand, received great revenues 
from the people. They had nothing to do except to eat, 
drink, attend balls or hunting parties and play cards. They 
lived in fine castles, and had beautiful parks, gardens and hunt- 
ing-grounds. The tax collectors came several times a year to 



CORRUPTIONS OF THE CHURCH. 189 

the poor man's home, but never to the castle. Of every six- 
teen dollars produced from the land by the hard-working 
peasants, the king took four, the priests took four, and the 
nobleman who owned the land took five, leaving only three for 
the poor man and his family. Meanwhile Louis XTI. suc- 
ceeded to the throne. 

The church was as corrupt as the king. The priests lived 
luxuriously on the revenue wrung from the toiling people. 
They charged the people enormous fees for every service, for 
baptism, marriage, burial, and masses for the dead. From the 
cradle to the grave it was one continual extortion. 

Such was the condition of the people when La Fayette pre- 
sented to the National Assembly a Declaration of Rights. It 
resembled the Declaration of Independence in many particu- 
lars, and declared that all men are free and equal. It was on 
Saturday, July 11th. 1789, that La Fayette presented the 
Declaration of Rights. Sunday came, and the troops were 
marching. The king had resolved to disperse the National 
Assembly, and if the people resisted to mow them down with 
cannon balls. A great crowd assembled in the Palais Royal 
Garden. They eagerly asked "What is to be done?'' A young 
man named Carnille Desmoulins, sprang upon a table, with a 
pistol in each hand to defend himself. "To arms ! to arms !" 
he cried, "we must defend ourselves !" He plucked a green 
leaf and put it in his hat-band, for a plume. The people fol- 
lowed his example. They had no arms, but there were 
muskets in the great arsenal, called the Hotel des Invalides. 
They broke it open and armed themselves. The cry rung 
through the streets, c 'Down with the Bastile ! ' ' They rushed 
to the gloomy prison and planted their cannon to batter down 
the gates. The guards in the Bastile were heart and soul with 
the people. They hung out a white flag, and the prison was 
surrendered. Then came forth to the light of day the emaciated 
victims who had been so long immured in its filthy dungeons. 

A duke rode to the king's palace at Versailles to tell the 
news. ' 'It is a revolt, ' ' exclaimed the king. The duke replied, 
"Nay, sire, it is a revolution " The deluge of blood had come. 
Revengeful men were roaming the streets of Paris murdering 
the nobles and the clergy. The National Assembly ordered 



190 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

the Bastile to be torn down, and the people leveled it to the 
ground. 

In Strasburg, was a young man named Rouget de l'lsle. 
One day he was dining with his friend Dietrich, and they talked 
of liberty and equal rights. After dinner, he went to his cham- 
ber, sat down to the clavichord and began to play and sing. 
His soul was on fire for liberty for France. He seemed to be 
wrought upon by a higher power. Words came, and with 
them a strange, wild melody. He did not know which came 
first. He sang and played, and played and sang, and felt a 
strange delight. At length his head fell upon his breast : he 
was asleep. The morning sun was shining in his face when he 
awoke and the song was still stirring in his heart. He called in 
his friend Dietrich to hear it, he liked it well, and other friends 
were called in to hear it. A young lady sat down to the clavichord 
and played while Rouget de l'lsle sang : 

"Ye sons of freedom, wake to glory! 

Hark! hark! what myriads bid you rise ! 
Your children, wives and grand-sires hoary, 

Behold their tears and hear their cries! 

"Shall hateful tyrant-, mischief breeding, 

With hireling host, a ruffian band, 
While peace and liberty lie bleeding, 

Affright and desolate the land? 

"Do you not hear the prisoners moaning? 

Arise ye brave, the sword unsheath, 
'Neath tyrants yoke no longer groaning, 

Kesolved on liberty or death." 

The peculiar genius of the French language, as well as the 
strange versification of the song, will not permit of an exact 
translation. 

For the benefit of those of our readers who understand the 
French language we give one of the stanzas as originally 
written : 

"Quoi! dcs cohortes etrangeres, 

Fer aient la loi dans nos foyers, 
Quoi! ces phalanges mercenaires 

Terr asser aient nosjiers gueriers. 



NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 191 

Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchainees, 
Nos fronts sous le joug se plieraient, 
De vl/s despotes deviendraiejit, 

Les maitres de nos destinees. 

In a few hours all Strasburg was singing it. It went from 
village to village, from city to city, from province to province, 
and became known as the Marseillaise, or national song of 
France, which above all other songs ever written has stirred the 
hearts of men. Great events took place. The king of France 
and his beautiful queen, Maria Antoinette, were beheaded. A 
republic was started, but was soon overthrown, and the govern- 
ment seized by blood-thirsty villains. More than a million 
people perished by the guillotine, war, famine and starvation. 

The nation waded through a sea of blood. Old things 
passed away never to return. The internal history of France 
during a period of two years from the fall of the monarchy, is 
perhaps the most appalling record, which the annals of the 
human family present. 

Why did not France succeed in establishing a free govern- 
ment? Because all such must be founded on intelligence, 
virtue, and faith in God and immortality. Out of the revolu- 
tion came the one man who could restore order to France — 
Napoleon Bonaparte. 

It does not come within the limits of this work to relate the 
various wars of Napoleon. The French revolution — abortive 
as it seemed — rendered forever impossible the continuance of 
the despotism which had heretofore governed Europe. Napoleon, 
though one of the worst despots, sowed revolutionary principles 
broad-cast over Europe. His judicial code taught the equality 
of man before the law. His overthrow of so many princes 
taught the people to place a lower estimate on the sanctity of 
crowned heads. His consolidation of the petty German states, 
awakened the desire for a united Germany and paved the way 
for its accomplishment. He introduced constitutional govern- 
ment to Italy, Westphalia and Spain. He weakend the tem- 
poral power of the pope, and dealt fatal blows at the feudal 
nobility. His rude assaults shook to its foundations the whole 
fabric of European despotism, and led the lower orders of the 
people to entertain new ideas regarding their own rights. 



192 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



Never before had influences so powerful been brought so widely 
into operation over vast multitudes of men. 

Napoleon, with the exception of Oliver Cromwell, was the 
first great statesman in Europe to engage in designs for the 
advantage of the Jews. In 1806, the world heard with amaze- 
ment that Napoleon had summoned a grand Sanhedrim of the 
Jews to assemble at Paris. The twelve great questions which 
Napoleon submitted to the Jewish Rabbies thus assembled and 




NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 



the answers which they gave to him, did much to dispel popular 
prejudice against that people, and prepare the way for their 
social and material advancement. Some of these questions and 
answers were of peculiar importance in a religious point of 
view. , From these we learn, that in 1806, among the Jewish 
people, and among some of the advanced thinkers of that age, 
marriage was considered null and void unless the ceremony was 



napoleon's wonderful career. 193 

performed by a person possessing divine authority. Further, 
that polygamy is taught in the Jewish scriptures, but had been 
discontinued by the Jews by virtue of a decree of the Synod of 
Worms, in A. D. 1030. (For further particulars see' 'Journal 
des Deb.ats' pour 1807. Milmans History of the Jews, 
page 592.) 

The influence which Napoleon exerted upon the course of 
human affairs is without parallel in history. In comparison 
with these, the conquest of Cgesar and Alexander dwindle into 
insignificance. Never before had any man inflicted upon his 
fellows, miseries so appalling ; yet did never one man's hand 
scatter seeds destined to produce a harvest of political change, 
so vast and so beneficent. To the despots of Europe he was 
the dreaded apostle of democracy. The amazing events which 
followed each other in so swift succession in France were 
watched with profound interest in other lands. The results 
were quickly apparent. When Napoleon fell, the desire for 
self-government had silently spread over Europe. The anxiety, 
which the dethroned monarchs evinced to please their subjects, 
began to disclose to the people the secret of their own 
strength. 

A congress of delegates from the great powers met in Vienna, 
in 1814, to restore the thrones to the kings who had been exiled 
during the wars of Napoleon. They were blind to the lesson 
which the revolution had taught. They dreamed not of the 
new forces which had been silently growing strong underneath 
the tumult and confusion of universal war. Napoleon was at 
length banished to St. Helena, a rocky island in the South 
Atlantic, far from any other inhabited land, where he died, 
May 5th, 1821. Thus darkly closed a career the most brilliant, 
the most influential, and the most remarkable of modern 
times. 

The power of the people now began to be everywhere felt. 
In 1820, the American possessions of Spain rose against the 
despotism under which they had long suffered, and successfully 
asserted their independence. Insurrections broke out in Spain, 
Portugal, Naples and Piedmont, and only ended when they 
obtained constitutional government. 

8* 



194 



THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 



Across the Adriatic, Greece took encouragement from the 
energy of her neighbors to assert the liberty of which Turkish 
oppression defrauded her. Helped by Europe, she succeeded. 




i 



mil 



Athens, once the seat of learning and philosophy, the home of 
poets, painters and sculptors, the city that once led the world 
in civilization and art, became the capital of the modern king- 
dom of Greece. 



PROGRESS OF LIBEUTY. 



195 



The influence continued to spread until it effected all the 
states of western Europe. It turned men's minds everywhere 
to political thought and discussion. It quickened the hardy 
mountaineers of Switzerland to reorganize their republican insti- 
tutions, on the basis of equal rights. The little republic of the 








mountains founded so long ago, in the days of William Tell, 
started on a new era of prosperity. France, in 1830, once 
more attempted to throw off the yoke of her ancient kings. 

These events may be said to mark the complete political 
awakening of Europe. Western Europe was now free and 



196 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

self-governing. The long and painful transition from despotism 
to responsible government was at length accomplished. One 
hundred and eighty millions of Europeans had risen from a 
degraded vassalage to the rank and condition of freemen. 



CHAPTER XX. 



FORCES OF CIVILIZATION IN THE 
NINETEENTH CENTURY. 



THE GENIUS OF THE AGE— EUROPEAN WARS— AMERICA 
TRANQUIL — DECLARATION OF WAR — DIVISIONS OF NORTH 
AMERICA— UNITED STATES— CANADA— MEXICO— AMERI- 
CAN COMMON SCHOOLS— THEIR INFLUENCE — PROGRESS 
OF INVENTION — FIRST STEAMBOAT — FIRST LOCOMOTIVE 
— ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH — IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING — 
SPIRITUAL DARKNESS — THE KINGDOM OF GOD — WANTS 
OF THE PRESENT AGE— JOSEPH SMITH— HIS TRAGIC 
DEATH — CONCLUSION. 

HUMAN history should be a record of progress — a record 
of accumulating knowledge and increasing wisdom, of 
continual advancement from a lower to a higher platform of 
intelligence and well-being. Each generation should pass on 
to the next the treasures which it has inherited, beneficially 
modified by its- own experience, and enlarged by the acquisi- 
tions which itself has gained. 

Sometimes the stream of human development seems to pause 
and the years seem to roll on without change. Yet this is 
only apparent. All the while there is a silent accumulation of 
forces, which at length burst forth in the violent overthrow of 
evils, which had been endured for generations. 

The nineteenth century, has witnessed progress beyond all 
precedent, for it has beheld the overthrow of the barriers that 
prevented progress. It has vindicated for all succeeding ages, 



EUROPEAN WARS. 197 

the right of man to his own unimpeded development. The 
genius of the age has tended to the abolition of serfdom and 
slavery, and the up-lifting of the poor, the down-trodden and 
oppressed. More than at all previous times it has seen the 
removal of artificial obstacles placed in the path of human 
progress by the selfishness and ignorance of the strong. 

At the opening of the nineteenth century, all Europe was 
occupied with war. From the North to the shores of the 
Mediterranean, from the confines of Asia to the Atlantic, men 
toiled to burn each other's cities, to waste each other's fields, 
and destroy each other's lives. In some places there was heard 
the shout of victory, in some the wail of defeat. The first 
twelve years of the century were spent by America in profound 
tranquility. She looked from afar with a serene neutrality 
upon the furious efforts which the European nations were 
making to compass the ruin of each other. 

In process of time, England and France, eagerly bent on 
mutual harm, adopted measures which nearly destroyed trans- 
Atlantic commerce. American ships lay in unprofitable idle- 
ness ; grass grew upon the untrodden wharfs of New York 
and Philadelphia, Moreover the high-handed British enforced 
a hateful claim to search American ships and take away any 
sailors suspected of being British subjects. 

These grievances might have been peacefully redressed ; but 
America and England were too angry to be reasonable. James 
Madison was president at that time. He did not want to go to 
war, but he desired to be elected president a second time. His 
friends who were eager for war informed him that unless he 
declared war he could not be re-elected. With closed doors 
the bill proposing war was discussed. It was passed in secret 
session, and on June 19th, 1812, President Madison affixed 
his signature, and issued a proclamation declaring war against 
Great Britain. The principal European powers, including 
England, were then engaged in a mighty struggle against 
Napoleon. England could spare scarcely three thousand men 
for the defense of her colonies. The British forces in Amer- 
ica were principaly composed of Canadian voluntiers and 
militia. 



198 THE HANI) OF PROVIDENCE. 

Then came a war of mingled success and disaster. The sur- 
render of Detroit, the disaster at Queenston Heights, the 
victory of Perry, the midnight struggle at Lundy's Lane, the 
capture of Washington, the terrible havoc at New Orleans — 
all these are too well known to need repetition here. After 
two years and a half of mutual injuries, a treaty of peace was 
signed in which nothing was said about the imprisonment of 
seamen ; but from that day to the present no American citizen 
has been imprisoned on board a British vessel. 

Then came an era of peaceful industrial progress without 
parallel in the annals of the human family. The forces of 
modern civilization began to work. 

North America was now divided into three great divisions, the 
United States, Canada and Mexico. For obvious reasons the 
United States has developed the most rapidly. The dominion 
of Canada is destined in process of years to become a power- 
ful empire. Its area is more than three million five hundred 
thousand square miles, which is more than that of the United 
States, and nearly equal to the whole of Europe, Most of 
this enormous region proves to be of marvelous fertility, pro- 
ducing in abundance nearly all the grains of temperate regions. 
Millions of acres are added annually to the area under cultiva- 
tion. The vast and magnificent region watered by the 
Saskatchewan and Assiniboine seems destined to become one of 
the granaries of the world. Quietly and peacefully, the 
dominion is growing in power and influence. The area of 
cultivated land is fast extending. Manufactures of all kinds 
are rapidly multiplying, and in ship-building and commerce 
she has already outstripped the great republic. In these 
respects, if considered separate from England, Canada now 
ranks the fourth power in the ^orld. 

Eccent developments indicate that Mexico has an important 
work to do in the economy of God. In the last few years she 
has made astonishing progress in the arts, sciences and social 
condition of her people. As an illustration one of her sons, 
the late President Juarez showed himself to be one of the most 
remarkable men that has lived on this continent during the 
present century. The population of North America in 1800, 
was scarcely more than ten millions, now it approaches seventy 



AMERICAN COMMON SCHOOLS. 196 

millions and increases in a ratio that defies calculation. Already 
it is the theater of some of the most important events in the 
world's history, and greater events still await the coming 
years. 

At the time that America commenced to be governed by the 
first written constitution that the world had ever seen, one of 
the great questions that was asked by the leading minds of the 
age as well as by the toiling millions of Europe was : ;i What 
will be the future of America, what the forces that will mould 
and fashion it?" One of these was the common school. Here 
the future citizens met upon a level. Money and position in 
society counted nothing: merit won. A boy with a patch on 
each knee, his jacket in rag?, who lived in a cabin, whose 
breakfast was potato and salt, and whose supper was mush, 
and milk, quite likely stood at the head of the class ; whi'e 
the boy who wore good clothes and whose father was rich, 
possibly found himself at the foot of the long line of spellers. 

From these schools many of the boys made their way through 
college, became teachers, ministers, lawyers, legislators and 
governors. The lessons there learned together, with the 
instructions of honest (rod fearing parents, laid the foundation 
of character and made them the pioneers of a new civiliza- 
tion. 

The education of the masses multiplied the number of 
thinkers. As a consequence, mechanical skill and invention is 
the peculiar growth of the present century and the United 
States in this regard ranks among the foremost nations of the 
world. 

From the creation of the world down to the middle of the 
last century, nearly all the work of the world had been done by 
the muscular labor of men or animals. 

But in England and America men were discovering that 
machinery might be made to do work of human hands. It 
was not until 1764. that James Watt commenced his wonder- 
ful inventions, and ten years more elapsed before his engine 
was of any practical use. 

Meanwhile Hargreaves, Arkwright and Crompton had 
invented machines for the manufacture of cloth. In America 
there were lands well adapted for raising cotton, but owing to 



200 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

the difficulty of extricating the seeds from the cotton, but 
little was used and that little was very expensive. In 1784, 
only eight bagfuls of cotton were exported from Savannah to 
England but when Eli Whitney invented the cotton-gin in 
1792, a great change took place. It was seen immediately 
that the machine would do the work of hundreds of men and 
a new industry and new product was given to the world. 
Inconsiderable as these inventions may seem, they changed the 
clothing material of the English-speaking people throughout 
the world. In a few years their costume so changed that they 
might be looked upon as belonging to a different race and a 
different civilization. 

On August 27th, 1787, while the National convention was 
at work at Philadelphia framing the constitution they were 
invited to behold a sight that the world had never seen. It 
was John Fitch gliding up stream in the first practical steam- 
boat ever constructed. In July, 1788, the boat made its first 
trip from Philadelphia up the river to Burlington — amid the 
cheering of crowds and the salvos of artillery. It continued 
to make trips during part of two years but never exceeded 
three miles an hour. As the machinery was imperfect and the 
running expensive, it was at length abandoned. 

Genius is far-sighted and prophetic. John Fitch looking 
into the future saw that the time would come when steamships 
would traverse the ocean, and glide to and fro upon the great 
rivers of the West. tie went to Ohio to spend his last days, 
and when the shadow of death was upon him, he made this 
request, u Bury me on the banks of the Ohio that I may be where 
the song of the boatmen and the music of the engines shall 
enliven the stillness of my resting place." Twenty years passed 
away before Fich's idea was realized. At length Robert Fulton 
built the Clermont in 1807 and started up the Hudson river. 
The country people knew not what to make of it. A Dutch- 
man shouted to his wife, 'The devil is on his way up the river 
with a sawmill in a boat." Fulton had succeeded where others 
had failed. It was the beginning of a new era in navigation. 
In 1819, the Savannah was the first steamboat to cross the 
Atlantic ocean. John Stevens of Hoboken, New Jersey 
appeared in 1812 before Congress with a plan for a railroad, 



202 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

Two years later, July 25th, 1814, George Stevenson of Eng- 
land completed and run the Rocket, the first practical locomo- 
tive in the world, 

But it was not till September, 1825, that the first railway for 
passengers was opened in England. Six years later railway 
trains were running in America. The improved facilities for 
traveling by means of steam, have had a wonderful influence 
upon society. A century ago human society was composed of 
a multitude of little communities, dwelling apart, mutually 
ignorant, and therefore, cherishing mutual antipathies. Facili- 
ties of travel brought together men of different towns and 
different countries. They learned how little there was, on 
either side, to hate, how much to love. Thus ancient prejudice 
was broken up by the fuller knowledge gained by this extended 
acquaintance. Peculiarities of dialect and manners grew 
indistinct, and errors of opinion were corrected by friendly con- 
flict of mind. 

In 1832, Samuel F. B. Morse, conceived the idea of the 
electric telegraph, and in 1837, Congress granted him thirty 
thousand dollars to aid his great enterprise. In 1844, Pro- 
fessor Morse sent his first message over the world's first electric 
telegraph. The words were, "What hath God wrought!" 
Thus it was found that the same mysterious and terrible power 
which flashes out in the midnight storm was ready to convey 
across continents and seas the messages of man. This use of 
electricity is of peculiar interest. It is the first invention which 
is apparently final. In the race of improvement all other inven- 
tions and instrumentalities may be superceded. But what 
agency for conveying intelligence can ever excel that which is 
instantaneous? It would seem that here, for the first time, the 
human mind has reached the utmost limits of its progress. 

From the time of its first invention to the year 1814, scarcely 
any improvement had been made on the printing press. A 
rude machine, printing at its best scarcely 150 copies per hour, 
was still universally in use. Now we have machines that print 
25,000 copies per hour; books and papers have greatly 
cheapened in consequence. Such were some of the forces at 
work upon society during the first half of the nineteenth 
century. 



SPIRITUAL DARKNESS. 203 

. But while mankind had progressed in science they had 
remained stationary in religion ; and how could it be otherwise? 
Invention and discovery are but the unfolding of the laws, 
attributes and objects of nature to man's limited understanding 
— the action of the divine will on the minds of men. When 
God revealed nature's laws, man progressed scientifically: until 
God revealed religious truth man groped in spiritual darkness. 
The intellectual light of that age only made to observing 
minds, their spiritual night more palpable ; even as a candle 
shining in the night only intensifies the surrounding gloom. 
Many leading minds perceived somewhat, the errors of the 
times, and sought to bring about reform in various ways. These 
attempts brought forth discussion and division. The disinte- 
gration which had commenced in the days of Luther, now 
worked with unexampled rapidity, until the various so-called 
Christian sects numbered more than six hundred, each tena- 
cious of its own ideas, and bitterly denouncing all the 
others. 

None of these jarring sects ever had divine authority; in 
fact, they denied the possibility of revelation from God. Even 
admitting their claims, their creeds are only the crystalized ideas 
of the leading men of the age that gave them birth. For 
example, Rome depended not upon revelation, nor even upon 
the letter of the scriptures, but upon the tradition 
of the fathers. In other words, the rule of faith, in the church 
of Rome was the conflicting opinions of men — often ill-informed 
and superstitious — who lived between the great apostasy and 
the time of Luther. 

So again, the creed of Lutherism is only the best ideas of 
men who lived in Central Europe three hundred and fifty years 
ago. In like manner, Presbyterianism is the reflex of the stern 
and rugged character of the Scotch in the 17th century. So 
also Methodism and Quakerism are the products of zealous 
English reformers in the Nth and 18th centuries. All of the 
religions that existed in America at the beginning of this cen- 
tury, were the outgrowth of European thought. They were 
systems that had been transplanted from foreign lands, by no 
means adapted to the progressive ideas that prevail on this 
continent. 



204 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

Humanly speaking, it was time to establish a religion, which 
should harmonize with the circumstances and age in which we 
live. Divinely speaking, man had become so developed and 
disciplined that he could receive the gospel. It was the Lord's 
due time to again reveal His will and set up His kingdom upon 
the earth. 

Not only was the age peculiar, but likewise the land in which 
this work was to be accomplished. The governments of 
European countries were all committed to some particular 
creed, some peculiar form of religious worship. But in Amer- 
ica there was no established religion. All were free to accept 
or reject the truth untrammelled by the arbitrary requirements 
of the civil law. 

The instrumentalities used for the establishment of this work 
were very peculiar. No hoary-headed philosopher, full of 
worldly wisdom; no crafty politician, zealous for a party or sect; 
no profound doctor of divinity, deeply versed in antiquarian 
lore, was appointed to do this work. No! A pure and 
ingenuous youth, who had spent the few years of his mortal 
life in the quiet and peaceful avocations of agricultural life — a 
youth who had not yet drunk in the poison of man's theology 
—such was the instrument chosen by the Almighty for the 
execution of His purposes. 

The sublime and tragic history of Joseph Smith is too well 
known to need repetition here. A few leading facts will suffice. 
Joseph Smith was born December 23rd, 1805, at Sharon, 
Windsor Co. , Vt. He received his first vision on the morning 
of a beautiful, clear day, early in the Spring of 1820. 
Joseph was then a little more than fourteen years of age. Three 
years and a half passed away, when he received his second 
vision. It was September 21st, 1823; he had retired to rest 
when the divine messenger made his appearance. During the 
night the angel appeared three times to Joseph, and imme- 
diately after, the dawn approached ; so that their interviews 
must have occupied the whole of that night. Thrice had 
the angel descended, and thrice had he ascended, with all 
the circumstances of reality. There is something grand 
in the very simplicity of the narrative of Joseph and all the 
more impressive when we consider his mental and physical 



WANTS OF THE PRESENT AGE. 205 

characteristics— a man of lofty stature and giant mind. He 
dwelt in the very glare and illumination of a spiritual existence, 
and yet was the founder, organizer and leader of a latter-day 
Israel. Not more real was Jacob's angel with whom he wrestled 
all night, than were the angels of our times to Joseph. Then 
he commenced a life of toil and persecution — toil in the service 
of his divine Master, persecution from the enemy of all 
good. 

We can only understand the life and character of Joseph 
Smith, when we consider the peculiar wants of the present age. 
Never was there a time in the history of the race when learning 
and general intelligence were so well diffused as at the present. 
The press is throwing off continually its millions of printed 
pages which are scattered broadcast, as the leaves of 
autumn. 

Never was there a time of more intense activity. Who can 
pass through the crowded streets of our cities, listen to the 
throbbing of the steam engine, the hum of machinery, gaze at 
the vast trains that are driven with fire and vapor along our 
railways, or view those magnificent structures that cross the 
mighty deep without feeling that this is an earnest age? 

Now this earnest, active, thinking age, demands a religion 
that has life and power in it. Not a religion of cold formality 
and narrow sectarianism, but a religion that will satisfy the 
intelligent with its truths, and touch the heart with its love, 
and sway the will with its persuasiveness, and gratify the taste 
with its beauties, and fill the imagination with its sublimities. 
A religion is wanted that will enlist upon its side the whole 
nature of man and command his willing and devoted homage; 
a religion, that, bearing the full impress of its Author's image, 
shall carry its own credentials with it, and which, clothed with 
all the elements of truth and righteousness, beauty and 
grandeur, of love and power, shall be revered by all those who 
love the truth, and dreaded by all who love it not. 

It is evident to every thinking mind that the strife and con- 
fusion and babel of the six hundred jarring sects of Christen- 
dom can not do this. Their half- deserted cathedrals and cold, 
formal ceremonies, as well as the triumphant march of infidelity 



206 THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE. 

and crime, attest the fact, that they have lost their hold on the 
masses of men. 

As in the days of old the Lord renewed his communications 
with man through the dutiful and obedient Samuel; so in this 
age he spake to the youthful Joseph. And how did Joseph 
accomplish so much in so short a time? Simply because he 
entered into his work with his whole heart. He allowed no infer- 
ior object to weaken his interest or divide his attention, and he 
continually sought the inspiration of the Almighty, who came to 
his aid and enabled him to accomplish in the short space of a 
few years the mightiest work that any man has wrought since 
the Savior was upon the earth. After an active and self-sacri- 
ficing life of nearly thirty-nine years, he was brutally murdered 
by a mob June 27th, 1844. 

Thus lived, suffered, toiled, and died, the martyr-prophet of 
the nineteenth century. Thus flashed athwart the spiritual dark- 
ness of his age, the light of the latter days. Even as in days 
of old the light shone in the darkness and the darkness com- 
prehended it not. Contemplating his death the mind instinc- 
tively reverts to that scene, when the Savior suffered on Cal- 
vary, eighteen hundred years ago. Across the ages stride the 
footprints of the self-same spirit. Unconsciously are associated 
the death of the Reedemer and the matyrdom of His servant. 
Already the principles enunciated by Joseph Smith, have 
shaken the religious world from center to circumference. The 
ignorant may effect to scorn, yet the day is nigh, when America 
will be proud of her prophet son. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Mount Calvary Frontispiece 



Jerusalem 10 

Coliseum 14 

Fakir 16 

Damascus 29 

Interior of a Saracen Palace 41 

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius 46 

Constantinople 49 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre 55 

Ancient Vessels 62 

Dungeon of the Inquisition 69 

Christopher Columbus 79 

Ships of Columbus 82 

Landing of Columbus 83 

The Straits of Magellan 90 

The Rack 93 

Ancient Peruvian Residence 108 

Ancient Tower at Newport 110 

Mammoth 115 

Mummy 119 

Massacre of the Incas 151 

Landing of the Pilgrims 132 

Fox in Discussion 142 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians 144 , 

John Wesley 153 

First American Almanac 159 

Benjamin Franklin 160 

George Washington 174 



208 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Washington Crossing the Delaware 1 77 

Scene of Burgoyne's Surrender 180 

Meeting Place of Andre and Arnold 181 

Mount Vernon 185 

The Tomb of Washington 186 

Napoleon Bonaparte 1 92 

The City of Athens 194 

Scene in Switzerland 1 95 

An Ocean Steamer 201 



INDEX. 




Abou-Beker 


28 


Adam Smith 


71,154 


Alhazin 


37 


Andalusia 


31,40 


America Discovered 


84 


American Antiquities 


109-112 


Africa, First Map of 


89 


Apostasy of Primitive Church 


13 


Arabia, Description of 


20 


Arabic Notation 


36 


Ayesha 


28 


Armada, Invincible 


104,105 


Ancient American Races 


114,117 


Acadia, Colonization of 


126,127 


Almanac, First American 


158,159 


Adams, Samuel 


167 


Antimony, Why so Called 


73 


Arnold's Treason 


182 


Andre, Major 


181 


American Revolution 


173 


Al Mamun Measures the Earth 


37 


Andalusia, Conquest of 


31 


Atmospheric Refraction. 


38 


Arabian Astronomy 


36 


Arnold of Brescia 


67,68 


Bacon, Roger 


73 


Bastile 


188,189 


Bozrah 


22,28 


Bagdad, University ot 


35 


Boheim, Hans 


94 


Balboa Discovers Pacific Ocean. 


89 


Bruno, Death of 


104 



210 INDEX. 



Barbarism of Europe 


42 


Boniface IX. 


76 


Byzantium 


48,50 


Bible First Printed 


78 


Brewster 


129,130 


Library 


134 


Brindley, James 


154 


British India 


155,156' 


Burgoyne's Surrender 


180 


Bonaparte 


180 


Bible, Influence of 


124 


Caaba 


21 


Cadijah 


24 


Caliphate 


27 


Caliphs Patronize Learning 


35 


Chivalry, Rise of 


65,66 


Canada 


198 


" First Settlements in 


126 


Common Schools, Effect of 


199 


Christians Persecuted 


13 


Christian, Early Sects 


23 


Columbus 


78 


" Vessels of 


81 


Compass, Mariner's 


37 


Constantine, Crimes of 


47 


Constantinople 


48 


u View of 


49 


Siege of 


50,51 


Cholula, Pyramid of 


112 


Cotton-Grin, Invention of 


200 


Copernicus 


103,104 


Constitutional Convention 


185 


Coliseum 


14 


Crusades 


59 


of Children 


61 


Results of 


63 


Culture of Women Among Saracens 


42 


Cyril of Alexandria 


44 


" the Priest 


71 



INDEX. 211 



Civilization of Mexico 


117,118 


of Peru 


118,120 


Champlain's Voyages 


126 


Chatham, Earl of 


168 


Cromwell 


133 


Confederation, First American 


135 


Colonizing of New England 


128 


Charles I. 


133,134 


Chemistry, Origin of 


36 


Carver, John 


131 


Cartier, Jacques 


126 


Damascus, Capture of 


29 


Destruction of Jerusalem 


11,12 


Destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii 


45 


Dominicans 


67 


Discovery of America 


84 


Declaration of Independence 


175 


Delaware Crossed by Washington 


176 


Diet of Worms 


95 


Earth Proved to be Round 


37 


u Circumnavigated 


89,92 


Earl of Chatham 


168 


Extent of Primitive Church 


9 


Extension of English Language 


157 


Europe Assumes Modern Form 


74 


Everlasting Gospel, The 


71,72 


Everlasting Gospel, Its Teachings 


72 


Everlasting Gospel, Its Influence 


73 


Esdras, Account of 


87 


English Revolution 


149 


Electric Telegraph 


202 


England's Dominion 


156 


Ebn Junis Invents the Pendulum 


38 


Franciscans 


67 


Frederick II. of Italy 


70 


His Liberal Policy 


71 


Fox, George 


141-143 


Fitch, John 


200 


French Revolution 


189 



212 INDEX. 

Fall Kiver Skeleton 109 
Franklin, Benjamin 158, 161 

Female Physicians 43 

Gregorian Calendar 37 

Gutenberg 77 

Grin First Made 151 

General Gates 181 

General Revolution 162 

Galileo, His Degradation 104 
Globes First Used by Arabs 34,43 

Greece, Kingdom of 194 

Hampden, John 133 

Harvard College Founded 133 

Holland, Description of 136 

Henry, Patrick 168 

Heraclius, Emperor 30 

Haroun al Raschid 36 

Herculaneum Destroyed 45 

Huss Burned 92 

Hypatia 44 

Huguenots, Massacre of 136 
" Flee to America 146,155 

Howard, John 153 

Henry IV. of Germany, a Penitent 55 

Human Sacrifices 113 
Incas, Massacre of 120,121 
India, British 155,156 

Indians, Penn's Treaty with 146 

Indian Races Destroyed 107 

Inquisition Established 70 
Innocent III. 67,68,70 

Influence of Minstrels 66 

Invention of Printing 77 

Invention of Steelyards 38 

Jamestown Founded 127 

Jerusalem destroyed by Romans 12 

" Captured by Saracens 29 

* c Taken by Crusaders 60 

Joss Fritz 94 






INDEX. 21 3 

Juarez 198 

Judaism, Golden Age of 39 

Jews Expelled from Spain 109 

Koran 23 

Khaled 28 

Iia Fayette 187 
Leyden, Siege of 137-140 

Luther, Martin 95,96 

Locomotive, First 202 

Levaur, Massacre of 70 

Massacre in Southern France 68 

Mahomet ' 21-26 

Mahometan Schools 38 

Marco Polo, Travels of 73,74 

Magellan's Voyage 89-92 

Monasteries, Rise of 18 

Munzer's Proclamation 98 

Mexican Pyramids 112 

Year 119 

" Arts and Sciences 118 

Mammoth, Remains of 115 

Maryland Colonized 146 

Methodists, Rise of 151 

Montesquieu 155 

Marseillaise 191 

Morse, Samuel F. B. 202 

^estorians 22 

Newport Tower 110 

Newspaper, First 150 

Napoleon Bonaparte 192 

" his Influence 193 

his Death 193 

Netherlands, Independence of 136 

Omar Caliph 29 

Ottoman Turks 33 

Oliver Cromwell 133 

Old South Church Incident 170 

Peter Waldo 67 

Peter the Hermit 58 



214 INDEX. 

Pompeii Destroyed 45 

Peasant's War 97 

Printing, Invention of 77 

Persecution of Christians 13 

of Quakers 148 

Peru, Description of 118,120 

Penn, William 143-146 

Pennsylvania Founded 145 

Pitt, William 155, 157 

Paine, Thomas 175 

Pilgrim Fathers 129, 133 

Pyramid s of Mexico 112 

Quebec Founded 126 

Quetzalcoatl 112, 122 

Quakerism, Rise of 141 

Queen Isabella 81 

Raymond, Earl of Toulouse 68 

Relic- Worship 54 

Richard the Lion-Hearted 61-63 

Rise of Chivalry 65, 66 

Reformation 95-99 

Religion of Mexico 116, 117 

Roger Williams 147 

Rum, First Made 151 

Revolutions General 162 

Rosseau 163 

Revere, Paul 172 

Rouget de l'lsle 190 

Revolution, French 189 

Railroad, First 202 

Robinson ' s Prophecy 1 30 

Saracen, Conquest of 30 

Discoveries 36 

Expelled from Spain 1 09 

Cities 40 

Schools 42 

Ships of Columbus 81 

Servetus, Death of 103 

Smith, Adam 154 



INDEX. 21 5 



Stamp Act 


166 


Steamboat, First 


200 


Smith, Joseph 


204 


" His Birth 


204 


" His Death 


206 


Spain, Degradation of 


109 


Spanish- American Revolution 


193 


Skeleton, Fall River 


109 


Ten Tribes 


87 


Treaty of Peace 


183 


Telegraph Invented 


202 


Twilight, Reason of 


138 


Valley Forge 


178 


Vasco de Grama 


89 


Vesuvius, Eruption of 


46 


Van der Werf, Speech of 


139 


Voltaire 


163 


Worms, Diet of 


95 


Synod of 


192 


Worship, Corrupted 


17 


Waldens&s, Rise of 


67 


Waldo, Peter 


67 


Witchcraft 


100, 101 


Williams, Roger 


147 


Whitfield, George 


151 


Wesley, Charles 


152 


Wesley, John 


152 


Wilberforce, William 


153 


Watt, James 


154 


Washington's Boyhood 


158 


Washington Chosen General 


174 


as President 


184 


Washington's Death 


187 


Woman, Condition of, Among the Saracens 


42, 43 


Wyandotts, Tradition of 


122 


Ziska, John 


94 




1 IB H 




111 ill 





m§m 



